From a Cradle to a Grave
by Sweet Little Darling
Summary: Fem! Harry. Seven year old Holly Potter is thrilled when the Dursleys' are forced to bring her along on Dudley's birthday trip to California. During a trip to the Stark Expo, Holly gets lost among the sea of people only to run into billionaire Tony Stark.
1. Prologue

Prologue: My Name is Holly Lily Potter

My mother Lily named me Holly because of the flowering plant and as a sort of tradition since the females in her family like her and her sister usually have flower names. My father James gave me my middle name Lily in honor of my mother who he loved very much. How did I hear about this?

It wasn't from my own parents who died in a car crash when I was just a baby it wasn't from my Aunt Petunia, my mother's sister who practically looked sick when I asked about my parents (a question that is forbidden in the perfect world of the Dursley household.) I got this information from a scrap of paper all though letter might have been a better word.

Though I don't think they are long enough to be letters. They're just little pieces of paper that arrive around my birthday. I don't know who send them. A pretty, small brown owl arrives and brings them to me, usually tied with a colorful ribbon. I have ten of them so far and I keep them in one of my Cousin Dudley's old shoe boxes that would never be filled with letters.

I don't mention them to my aunt or uncle. They would just throw them out. Instead I keep them hidden in the boxes and read them when I have had a bad day. I don't know if they are true or if they are a lie. And I don't care.

They just make me happy.

* * *

"Holly!" Aunt Petunia knocked on the door rapidly as if Number 4 Privet Drive was on fire instead of being a normal, boring Saturday morning. Not even on Saturday could seven year old Holly Potter sleep in, she was expected to help her aunt with breakfast. "Get up you lazy girl."

Holly waited until she heard Aunt Petunia walk back towards the kitchen before she sat up. Unlike the rest of the family who had large, cozy rooms Holly's room resided in a small room under the stairs that was usually reserved for coats. But Holly made it as cozy as possible by decorating it with pages torn out of My Little Pony coloring books and handmade drawings that she had made of herself and her parents Lily and James Potter.

She had never meet them of course, Aunt Petunia told her that they had died in a car crash when she was a baby and that's how they had been stuck with her in the first place. But she could imagine them and the Dursleys had often pointed out that Holly had her mother's stubborn green eyes and her father's untidy, black hair.

Holly sighed as she forced herself to get out of bed even though it was the middle of the summer and the attic was scorching hot. She put on the same pale, blue dress with the little white flowers and the stiff collar that Holly had been wearing on and off all summer.

Aunt Petunia got her clothes from a local bargain bin, since she often told Holly that she didn't seem the point in wasting money of her since she was going to dirty her clothes anyway. Holly didn't bother pointing out that her own son often dribble juice and bacon grease down his clothes and that his hobbies included tormenting other school children.

Holly joined her aunt in the kitchen as she clumsily arrange the breakfast table with plates and glasses so that Aunt Petunia could serve the food and pour the orange juice. Uncle Vernon Dursley was reading the newspaper and he looked so angry that his face looked a little pink as he flipped through the pages of the newspaper. Holly wondered why her uncle read the paper every morning since it upset him so much, but Holly didn't want to deal with the consequences.

Her cousin who was turning eight years old son, Dudley was finishing one of the leftover donuts from yesterday. Sucking the cream jelly from his fingers, Holly turned away not wanting to crave the surgery taste. Dudley was such a hog when it came to food that he would let Holly starve if it meant that he didn't have to share his food.

"Don't just stand there, Holly," Aunt Petunia snapped. "Serve the bacon."

"Yes," Holly said in a quiet, timid voice as she grabbed the hot bacon pan from the stove and started serving several large pieces of bacon on the plates. She didn't even bother putting bacon on her plate, Dudley would probably shove it in his mouth before she had a chance to eat it.

The phone rang and Aunt Petunia turned to answer it. "Yes . . . what? . . . But we have, had this trip planned for months! Where on earth are we going to put her . . . goodbye." Aunt Petunia hung up the phone tensely and glared at Holly. Holly pretended that she didn't see and continue serving. "That was Mrs. Figg, she can't take her for the week, her great aunt died and she's going upstate for the funeral. We're going to have to take her along since your sister doesn't want anything to do with her either." The Dursleys often talked about her as if she were a meager dog.

Holly was so surprise that she dropped the bacon plan spilling the leftover bacon and grease. Dudley dived into the floor and started eating the fallen bacon. Petunia screeched about her once clean floor. Vernon stood up. "Stupid girl! Look what you did, you ruined my breakfast!" He handed her a roll of towels. "Clean it up."

"Sorry," Holly said as she started cleaning up the mess, but she couldn't stop grinning.

For Dudley's eight birthday Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had planned a huge trip to California in the States. Dudley had been begging (more like throwing tantrums) to convince his parents to take him and finally Dudley was getting his wish for his eight birthday.

Holly was sick of Dudley constantly teasing her about going to meet Mickey Mouse while Holly was stuck with batty Mrs. Figgs and looking at pictures of her cars instead of going to Hollywood and Disneyland. But apparently Mrs. Figgs couldn't babysit her, all of Aunt Petunia's friends were on vacation, and Aunt Marge couldn't stand Holly's presence which meant she was going to go with them!

She was going to go to Disneyland and meet Mickey Mouse and all the Disney princesses! Sure, the Dursleys' would probably not treat her better in sunny L.A. but she needed a break for Privet Drive.

Dudley's eyes widened when he realized the same thing and he started bawling, but Holly noticed that no tears came out. "I don't want, hic, Holly to come, hic, it's my birthday, and she'll, hic, ruin everything."

Vernon grumbled. "We don't have a choice Dudley, don't worry we'll leave her in the hotel if we have too."

Petunia rubbed his back, "There, there sweetheart I won't let Holly ruin my baby's special day. We'll get you everything you want, you won't even remember that Holly is there!"

Holly smiled to herself as she cleaned the kitchen. But the good part was that she would be there.

-End of Prologue-

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! This is my first time writing a Harry Potter/Avengers crossover in about two years so hopefully it wasn't too sloppy.


	2. Chapter 1: The Iron Friend

Chapter One: The Iron Friend

Uncle Vernon had nearly strangled Holly when he found out how much an extra plane ticket was going to cost at the last minute as if it was Holly's fault that Ms. Figgs couldn't make it and honestly Holly was so excited that she didn't care if she had to walk to California.

Dudley had gotten over his disappointment that Holly was going since nothing seemed to convince his parents to leave her home by herself that he had returned to his usual ways of making her life miserable, by pinching her arm and tattling on her to Aunt Petunia.

But now the day had finally arrived and they were going to California, first they would take a plane from England to New York (7 hours) and then a plane from New York to California (another six hours.)

By the time that they arrived at LAX Holly was feeling cranky, tired, and sweaty and she wondered how she had been so exited in the first place. Aunt Petunia apparently felt the same way because she looked like she was going to be sick. Uncle Vernon kept making snide comments about people under his breath, and Dudley kept whining that he wanted to get some food.

It took them another half an hour to get their bags and another two hours before Uncle Vernon could stop fighting with the rental car man and actually rent a car. He had chosen a car closest to his car back home and even though it was a nice car it was obvious that he disapproved.

It would take at least another forty minutes to reach Anaheim and Holly had already prepared herself with a cozy Beverly Cleary book. Even though she couldn't read or understand all the words she liked looking at the few pictures and hearing all about Ramona Quimby's obstacles and at least she had parents and a sister.

They were only a few miles away from the Disneyland entrance when Holly and Dudley saw a great big silver sign that read STARK EXPO. There were dozens of people already trying to cram into the streets and the tiny parking space in front of them making Uncle Vernon furious. There were some girls wearing short shorts with bright red leggings, children wearing bright red t shirts, and people waving lights around and wearing Iron Man helmets.

It took Holly a moment for her to realize where she had seen the name before. The Stark Expo was in honor of Tony Stark. Iron Man. Holly wiggled in her seat in excitement. She had seen Iron Man before on the TV when New York was being destroyed by apparent aliens. She had only seen a little bit before Uncle Vernon had turned off the TV and called it foolishness. He had look so cool on TV.

"Dad," Dudley started kicking the back of Uncle Vernon's chair as he pointed to the bright colors of the Stark Expo. "I want to go there." Aunt Petunia frowned and Holly guessed she must be worried how unclean the "American establishments" were.

Uncle Vernon snorted. "Don't be silly, Dudley. That place is filled with hippies and lunatics begging for attention. Besides were on our way to Disneyland where you wanted to go in the first place and where sane people actually are."

Dudley frowned and Holly guessed that a big tantrum was coming their way. She was right, Dudley started kicking the back of Uncle Vernon's chair and screaming at the top of his lings. "I. WANT. TO. GO. TAKE ME!"

Holly shut her eyes closed and wished that she had an I-pod to block out the sounds, though she doubted that even that would be enough to stop Dudley's screaming. Dudley screamed for about five more minutes before Aunt Petunia begged him to go back and Uncle Vernon quickly moved in the opposite direction and towards the Stark Expo.

The line was a mile long and tickers were twice more expensive than Disneyland especially since they had one uninvited guest tagging along, but since cops were everywhere the Dursleys couldn't exactly let Holly to rot in the car.

Inside the Stark Expo there were even more people than Holly had imagined and it was so crowded. There were people everywhere and there were huge booths all around her. They were letting them know the newest of Stark Enterprises technology, there were vendors selling food everywhere, and there were stalls selling Iron Man stuffed animals, and ice cream shaped like Tony Stark.

Uncle Vernon was making rude noises and sneering as people walked by and Aunt Petunia was buying everything that her little boy wanted such a corn dogs and an Iron Man sweatshirt and action figure.

Holly was so excited and in awe with everything that she was seeing that she hardly heard when her aunt told her to move forward. Her eyes green were too caught up in the Iron man balloons that one of the men were selling. They glowed in the dark and they came in the most beautiful colors.

Holly turned around to ask her aunt if she could have one. She knew that her aunt would probably say no, but maybe is she promised that she would polished the silver and clean the floors that she would consider it.

Holly turned around and saw that something was wrong her aunt, her uncle, and Dudley were nowhere in sight. In fact they were gone. They didn't seem to be anywhere. A chill ran down Holly's spine and she felt closed to tears. Where could her aunt and uncle be?

They didn't seem to be anywhere in sight how could they have left so quickly? Holly forced herself not to cry. They had to be here somewhere. She moved forward with her head held up high. There were so many people and she was so little that they hardly noticed as she passed by.

She somehow found herself walking through a set of stairs away from the people. She didn't know exactly where they led her. But maybe it was some sort of tower and she would be able to see them from up high.

Holly could heard music coming from somewhere and she frowned. Was she in the right place? She saw a bunch of blond girls in booty shorts and red tube tops passing by her giggling and talking about "fucking" whatever that meant.

She saw them go down a lighted hallway and there were more coming her way. Were they dancers? They didn't really look like dancers. Holly squeezed one of the curtains and peeked inside hoping to see what the commotion was all about, but she felt herself being pushed by accident. Perhaps by one of the dancers.

Holly's eyes went wide and she gaped. She could feel her skinny legs trembling and she didn't know if she wanted to cry or if she suddenly needed to pee. She was standing in the middle of a wide center stage with so many bright lights that she felt as if she were going blind.

The several dancers that Holly had seen pass by were kicking up their legs as if they were cheerleaders and Holly saw a man standing a few feet away from her getting out on an iron suit and wearing a three piece suit and dark glasses.

Holly's first instinct was to run and get off the stage, but she felt like she couldn't move. She could feel thousands of people's eyes on her and it took her another second to come to the conclusion that she was on stage. That people were actually looking at her.

Tony finally seemed to realize that he had an uninvited guest on stage and his dark eyebrows looked at Holly quizzically, but like a true professional he didn't show it. He just bounced towards her. "Well, it seems we have a guest here tonight," Tony said in his usual flair. "What's your name midget-I mean hon?"

"Holly," Holly fiddled with her dress. "Holly Potter."

Tony patted her shoulder. "Everyone, give it up for Miss Holly who seems to be a rule breaker just like myself." The crowd burst into cheers which made Holly feel more awkward.

Holly felt a hand on her shoulder as a strawberry hair woman pulled her away. "Come along, sweetie." The woman said.

"But-" Holly trailed off, she turned back to Tony who winked but went back onstage and Holly felt herself being pulled away.

-End of Chapter One-

Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I really appreciate them and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	3. Chapter 2: Faces in the Dark

Chapter Two: Faces in the Dark

Holly was so nervous that she felt like she was going to throw up. Tony Stark's performance was still going strong outside and she had seen more than one half naked dancer passing by her in the past hour. Anyone in her position would be lucky to be backstage while Tony Stark was presenting at his Stark Expo, only months after the Chitauri invasion.

If Holly hadn't been so nervous right now, she would probably be thinking how jealous Dudley would be right now, since he considered himself Iron Man's biggest fan (he had watched the Avenger's newscast at his friend Harley's house.)

But the fact was that she was nervous and not even meeting Tony Stark would change that. She still hadn't found the Dursleys even though Tony Stark's girlfriend and CEO of Stark Enterprises Pepper Potts had been trying to get ahold of them for over an hour and sending guards over to search the premises and let people know that their missing niece was here, though Holly doubted that the Dursleys would even want her back. It would have been easier if they had cell phones in order to contact them, but Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't like cell phones and the only number that Holly remembered was the house phone which Holly found useless at the moment.

Pepper had tried to make her feel better by staying backstage with her even though she had a million things to do and get her every snack she wanted, but it wasn't working. Holly was still sniffling like it was the end of the world.

Pepper looked up from her I-phone where she was barking orders into her phone while at the same time keeping a strict eye on Tony to make sure that he didn't start humping one of the models. He had a habit of getting way too overexcited. Holly's face was flushed against her pale face and her small, heart shaped face was covered with tears.

"Oh, honey are you still worried?" Pepper started cleaning up her face with some Kleenex. "Believe me they will be relieved when they find you. It's a large expo and children can get distracted easily, especially a young girl like you." Pepper smiled. "I'm sure your aunt and uncle will be glad that you're safe."

"No, they won't," Holly said, still slightly sniffling. "They're not like that. They are not nice," she stopped talking. The Dursleys had specifically told her never too talk about them with strangers. It was practically their divine rule. "I mean they just want me to follow the rules. Rules will keep me safe."

"I understand," Ms. Pott said calmly as she started wiping Holly's nose. "Rules are important."

"I don't. Rules are boring and for cowardly losers."

Both Pepper and Holly turned to look at Tony who had just exited from the stage, Holly had been sniffling so loud that she had not even heard him come in. "How did you even get in here? It's crawling with security guards."

Holly shrugged. "I sneaked in the back door, hardly anyone saw me."

Tony grinned. "Nice!"

Happy Harold, Tony's bodyguard and friend came running towards them, pink faced and out of breath. "I found them," he said. "I found the Donalds."

"Dursleys," Holly said as the feeling of dread returned. "Their names are the Dursleys, are they very angry?"

Happy exchanged looked with Tony and Pepper. "Uh-"even though he didn't say anything, Holly already knew the answer and her heart sank slightly.

Pepper put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We'll go with you, right Tony?"

Tony had been too busy looking at his phone to be paying attention to Pepper, but he quickly nodded when Pepper threw him a sharp look. "Oh, yeah of course we'll go with you Hanna."

"Holly Potter," Holly piped in. "I saw you in New York when you went through the-"she had been about to say wormhole, but Tony interrupted her. Apparently, he didn't really like talking about it because he looked like of queasy like he was about to throw up.

"Right, Holly, come on let's go," they walked in silence, with only Pepper's heels making some kind of noise. Happy had told them that the Dursleys were located just at the end of the concert hall and then excused himself to look after the security. Holly thought that he looked kind of glad to have an excuse not to go, not that she could blame him.

They reached the end of the building and Holly came face to face with two very angry looking family members and a very bored and annoyed Dudley though his piggy looking face lite up when he saw Tony. "You're Iron Man!"

Tony gave him his rehearsed, dazzling smile that drove girls wild. "Why, yes I am." It seemed like Dudley was about to go hug him, but Vernon stopped him by holding him back by his shoulder. Aunt Petunia looked thin and cranky and Uncle Vernon looked as mad as a raging bull.

His eyes went towards Holly who seemed to be hiding behind Pepper's skirt. "Where have you've been girl?" he raged. "Did you know what your aunt and I went through when we saw that you were missing?"

Holly quaked as she hung on to Pepper's skirt. "I-"

"We were so worried," Aunt Petunia sniffed as she looked for her hankie. Dudley stuck out his tongue.

"I didn't mean to get lost," Holly whispered. "Honest, there were a lot of people-"

"Really, Mr. Dursley," Pepper said firmly as she put a reassuring hand on Holly's shoulder. "Holly has been through enough of a fright already. I'm sure that she didn't mean to get lost, it was an accident, and she is a but a child."

"She is seven years old," Aunt Petunia sniffed. "Old enough."

"It was a mistake," Pepper said firmly trying not to lose her temper and even Tony looked annoyed at the moment. "And she is still a child, it-"

"I don't want to hear excuses!" Uncle Vernon roared. "You two are clearly bad influences, and I don't care Stark if you did save the world with the rest of you hooligan friends. I will not let you influence my family any longer."

"Yes, because you seem to be such a role model," Tony quipped. Aunt Petunia gasped and Uncle Vernon looked like he wanted to punch Tony Stark across the face.

Holly pulled away from Pepper. "I think I better go," Holly murmured as she went toward her cousin who so far was the least aggressive member of the group. Pepper looked worried, but her jaw clenched and she didn't say anything.

Tony stepped forward. "Mr. Dursley, on behalf of Stark Industries I would like to issue passes for you and your family to visit the Stark Expo at no cost all weekend."

"Like we would want anything from you," Uncle Vernon snarled as he pulled on Holly's hand. "Holly, let's go."

Holly looked at them apologetic, Pepper looked sick to her stomach and Tony looked at the Dursleys quizzically and before they could utter another word Holly found herself being pulled away into oblivion.

* * *

Two weeks later the Stark Expo was finished and Tony was back in his lab, tinkering with his fellow Avenger and the only other one who seemed to know was science was, Bruce Banner. Or the better word for it was that he was supposed to be tinkering especially since Pepper was on a business trip to China and wouldn't be here until Monday which meant that she wouldn't be here to remind Tony about the unimportant things in life, such as you know eating and showering.

Bruce looked up from his computer and sighed. "Ok, what's with you?"

"Nothing," he said trying to focus back on his work, but it was hard. For some reason he kept picturing the small, dark hair girl at the Stark Expo, her family hadn't had come down as welcoming not to mention that she look like a deer caught in the headlights among a bunch of lions.

Bruce grew impatient. "I know it's not nothing Tony, you've been lost in your own world. Pepper too. Is something wrong with the company? Is it SHIELD?"

"No," Tony murmured to himself, the dread of not knowing was killing him. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?" The AI said.

"Look up Holly Potter for me, please."

-End of Chapter Two-

Thank you for you reviews! I have a poll on my profile, can you please answer it? Also, I won't be updating next week because I'll be out of town.


	4. Chapter 3: Good Golly, Miss Holly

Chapter Three: Good Golly, Miss Holly

"Tony, what the hell are you doing?" Bruce creased his eyebrows in confusion as he watched dozens of article pop on Tony's screen. What the hell had gotten into Stark, he was acting weirder than usual. "You can't just stalk people."

"It's not stalking, Banner," Tony clicked his tongue. "And don't let stars and stripes hear you swearing or he will make you put a dollar in the swear jar. I'm just finding out information, and no I'm not cheating on Pepper if that's what you're thinking. She told me that if I ever did that she would cut my balls off and I honestly don't want to see if she's lying or not."

"But who is Holly- "Bruce stopped midsentence as the screen in front of them froze slightly. He frowned as he looked at the picture of a small girl that couldn't be more than six or seven years old and not the hot supermodel that Bruce had been sure Tony had been looking for. The girl had long, black hair in Wednesday Adams pigtails, pale skin, and pretty green eyes. In the picture she was wearing a light, blue summer dress. "That's Holly Potter? Is she on SHIELD's most wanted?"

"Banner," Tony spat sarcastically. "The kid is seven."

Bruce flushed. "Well SHIELD has done weird things I wouldn't be surprise if they decided to run their own little red room." He peered at the picture curiously. "Can you at least tell me what we're looking at exactly."

"We are looking at Holly Lily Potter from England," Tony murmured to himself. "From number 4 Privet Drive. She is seven years old, almost eight and her parents Lily and James Potter apparently died in a car crash when she was barely a few months old."

Bruce looked at him quizzically. "Why are you spending so much time on this? Where did you even meet her?"

"At the Stark Expo this weekend." He murmured as he looked down the information.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You still have those? I thought for sure that you wouldn't anymore. Not after what happened last time."

"Yeah, well there are good for publicity stunts," Tony said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes that's the one Jarvis, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, they're her aunt and uncle. Who apparently have a son name Dudley. Weird name." he clicked on Holly's school grades which apparently Jarvis had also gotten ahold of and found out that Holly was an average student, a sort of bookworm, and overall a quiet, sweet girl the kind that teachers favored. She had gotten most of her vaccinations when she was a child, but apparently had not been to a doctor ever since.

"Tony," Bruce asked his confused. "Why does this matter so much?"

Tony didn't answer for a moment as he read the rest of her file, there wasn't much of anything else. "I just didn't like how her aunt and uncle were treating her-and I don't know I felt a kind of connection towards her. She kind of reminded me of myself when I was young."

Bruce tried his best not to snort. "You were shy and quiet?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Tony asked as he turned off Holly's information. "Besides if this kid is being mistreated I like to keep her out of it."

"Mr. Stark, does have a heart Dr. Banner." The AI quipped and Tony rolled his eyes.

"I know," Bruce said, still slightly bewildered by the AI. "I just think that he needs to use it every once in a while."

"Jarvis," Tony asked ignoring Bruce's comment. "Where's Pepper?"

"She is in a meeting, sir," Jarvis said. "And might I remind you that she asked you not to interrupt her again. Her meeting will be over in 45 minute."

"Fine," Tony said. "I'll wait for her."

* * *

"You want to what?" Pepper rubbed her temples an hour later and she went towards the master bedroom that she and Tony shared. She took off her heels and looked at Tony as if expecting him to say something else. "You want to go to England? To check up on Holly? Why? Where is this coming from Tony?"

"I," Tony's shoulders slump. "I just want to make sure that she's all right. You saw what her aunt and uncle were like. They weren't exactly warm and fuzzy."

Pepper sighed, she would be lying if she said that the little girl hadn't been in her mind either. Holly hadn't exactly been thrilled to see them and they had been acting like dictators for a small country, but that did not mean that she wanted to go to England and barge in the Dursleys' home. "I know, sweetie," she rested her hand on Tony's hip. "But unfortunately, we cannot control the world and how people act. We can't barge into the Dursleys' life and I know that they looked bad at the Stark Expo, but maybe they treat Holly better at home."

"She's an orphan like me," Tony said as he looked slightly embarrassed. "I read her file. Her parents died in a car accident, that's why she's living with her aunt and uncle."

"Poor girl," Pepper murmured.

They didn't speak for a moment as Pepper rested her hand against his chest. Tony kissed the top of her head. "Pep,"

"No- "

"Pepper- "

"Tony, no," Pepper said. "It is none of your business."

"Let's just check on her," Tony said with a raised eyebrow. "We'll check on her, we'll tell them we were in town planning a British expo or something. If she's decent, we'll go back home and I won't mention it again." Pepper hesitated for a few seconds before she nodded. Tony kissed her. "Thank you."

* * *

"Tony and Pepper left for England?" Steve blurted out a few days later as he, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint meet at Stark tower for their usual Friday night dinner. "Why? Stark didn't mention it."

"Why, Cap do you miss him?" Clint asked sarcastically as he grabbed a couple of dumplings. "Kissy kissy- "

Natasha threw a threw a throw pillow at Clint's face. "That's enough," Natasha replied as she dipped some sauce on her egg rolls. "Did they really go to check on that little girl, Banner? Stark, doesn't strikes me as the sentimental time." She elaborated for Clint and Steve. "Tony and Pepper went to check on some little girl that lives in England."

"Is she part of an organization? Or an experiment?" Steve questioned as he looked at his fortune cookie.

"No!"

"Sorry," Steve said sheepishly. "SHIELD is weird sometimes. What was so special?"

Clint snorted. "Maybe Stark is having a middle age crisis."

"Maybe," Natasha opened a beer. "Or maybe is something else."

* * *

Holly was helping Aunt Petunia fixe breakfast one ordinary July morning, Aunt Petunia was frying the bacon and slightly spying on the new neighbors through the small window while Holly was fixing up the toast. Uncle Vernon and Dudley were already at the breakfast table. Uncle Vernon was drinking his coffee loudly and Dudley was trying to finish the remaining chocolate cake from last night's dessert.

Holly looked at the small chicken calendar than hung from the dishwasher and she counter in her head like Professor Murray had taught her to do in school. If her addition was correct, she only had 14 days left to go before her birthday and she would be eight years old, which was good because eight was her favorite number.

"Dudley, get the paper." Uncle Vernon said.

"Make Holly get it."

"Holly, get the paper."

Holly sighed as she finished buttering a piece of toast and headed outside. Dudley was always bullying her because he was a few weeks older than her. She went outside and grabbed the newspaper. She found a familiar, tawny colored owl staring at her. She smiled. "Hello, Mr. Owl." The owl had delivered strange packages before. She didn't know his name so she just called him Mr. Owl. Mr. Owl had a tiny package on his left leg, while he usually just delivered a note.

She untied the package and found a red pen, it had a gold lion on top. Weird pen. There was also a note folded inside:

 _There are no unwanted children, just unfound families_

Holly looked at the note quizzically, wondering what it meant. She turned back to stare at the owl, but it was already gone.

-End of Chapter Three-

Thank you so much to everyone for voting! The winning poll was that I would update shorter chapters, but much more frequently. Just please keep in mind that I'm working on a lot of stories so please be patient! Speaking of which, have you guys seen the Captain America Civil War Trailer, I personally think it looks much better than Avengers 2 even with the heartbreaking Stony scene.


	5. Chapter 4: Family Matters

Chapter Four: Family Matters

"Pepper, would you stop fixing my tie. It's fine." Tony murmured under his breath as Pepper obsessively fixed his blue-gray time for the fiftieth time that day. "I doubt that the Dursleys are going to care about the kind of tie that I have on."

"It's not about the tie," Pepper rolled her blue eyes. "It's about the presentation, now stand back straight and be kind, don't act like a smart mouth." At least the house was decent size and it looked like it belonged in a nice neighborhood, even though Tony thought that the house was far too small

"I feel like I'm going to a job interview," Tony joked slightly as he rang the doorbell.

Back inside the house the Dursleys were finishing up their breakfast and Holly was already clearing the breakfast plates while she watches Dudley enviously playing his videogames. They heard the doorbell ringing and Vernon barked Holly to get it since he was busy looking for his briefcase and Petunia was polishing the stove.

Holly went towards the door and opened it wondering who it could be, she really hoped it wasn't Aunt Marge, she like to pinch Holly for fun. She was surprise when she saw Tony Stark and his pretty assistant/CEO/girlfriend staring right back at her. Holly blinked, what were Tony Stark and Pepper Potts doing in the Dursleys front porch?

"Hey midget," Tony said as he took of his glasses and looked at the pale blue dress with white flowers that was one of her favorite dresses and some old hand me downs that Petunia had found in a second rate shop. "Or Smurfette might be a better word."

"Tony," Pepper hissed under her breath as she turned towards Holly. "Hi, Honey are your aunt and uncle here?"

Holly nodded as she pushed the door opened and led them towards the overly clean living room. Dudley gaped when he saw Tony and he looked like he was going to faint, Uncle Vernon grew red face and furious, and Aunt Petunia actually stopped spying on the neighbors.

"What are you doing here?" Uncle Vernon snapped, not as rudely as he would have usually done it, Holly noticed, but still rude enough. "You have not been invited into our home." He glared at Holly as if blaming her for letting them through the front door.

"Please Mr. Dursley, it won't take long." Pepper said firmly. "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Pepper Potts and this is Anthony Stark, but he prefers to be called Tony. We just wanted to see how Holly was doing especially since it was such a shock to her to get lost in such a large expo."

"Holly is fine," said Aunt Petunia as she narrowed her beady eyes. It looked like she was wondering whether or not she would be able to throw them out with her bony arms.

"How about some tea?" Pepper said firmly. "Tony?"

Tony looked slightly more awake, when Pepper said his name. It seemed that he was too busy criticizing how small everything was. "How about whisk-I mean tea is fine." He said when he caught a look at Pepper's storming eyes.

Five minutes later the Dursleys, Holly, Tony, and Pepper were settled around the Dursleys living room while Aunt Petunia poured the tea in fancy cups. Holly was so nervous that she hardly moved in where she was squeezed in between Uncle Vernon and Dudley.

"So Holly," Pepper smiled. "How do you like school, we um, heard around that you're a good student."

Holly opened her mouth to respond, but Uncle Vernon spoke up. "She gets good marks, but not as good as Dudley."

Dudley ignored his father and turned to Tony. "Did you bring your suit?

"Yeah," Holly gripped the edge of the seat. "Did you?"

Tony shook his head as he shot Pepper a playful look. "This one wouldn't let me."

Pepper cleared her throat. "Your house is very lovely, especially in the summer time. Holly what do you like to do? Do you have little friends in the neighborhood or do you play with your dolls?"

"Holly has chores," Uncle Vernon said.

Tony spoke up. "I believe that Miss Potts asked Holly not you Mr. Dursley."

"I won't have you insult me in my home!" Uncle Vernon roared.

"I wasn't an insult," Tony said in a sugary sweet voice. "Believe me, I can come up with much better insults than that. No Pep," Tony said to Pepper who was giving a pointed look. "The guy is a complete first rate dimwit and I don't think that Holly should be living with them."

"I think you should leave," Aunt Petunia said her voice shaking slightly. "You're upsetting my husband and Holly is my niece and we know what it's best for her. Now leave before I call the police. You're no longer welcome into this house."

"I- "

"I'm calling them!" Uncle Vernon roared as he picked up the phone. "I will."

"Tony," Pepper murmured. "Let's go, we'll take care of this back home."

Tony hesitated, but seemed to relax slightly. "We'll be back midget. Ok?" Holly bit her lip as Tony and Pepper exited the house. Once they heard their car pull away the pounce on Holly.

"What did you say to them girl?" Uncle Vernon growled.

"What will the neighbored think?" Aunt Petunia whined as she looked towards the window.

Dudley's eyes were wide. "What makes you so special? Why would Iron Man want to hang out with a dork like you?"

"I don't know," Holly mumbled as she played with her pigtails. "I don't know why he even came- "

"You won't have any contact with them or Miss Potts," Uncle Vernon roared looking very much like an angry elephant. "Now go to your room and no supper for you this evening. The names Tony Stark and Iron Man are banned in this house from now on!

Holly was so angry as she stomped towards her tiny bedroom under the stairs that she didn't know whether to cry or scream in frustration. She was so sick and tired of the Dursleys blaming her for everything. It wasn't her fault, why did everything she did made them so upset.

She closed the door of her tiny bedroom and plop on her bed squeezing the old pillows roughly in between her hands. She saw the pen with the lion on it and threw it against the dusty wall without thinking, it crashed down and broke in half and Holly was too angry to be upset.

She silently screamed in between her pillows so that her angry cries would not be heard. Suddenly she felt that the tiny room stated shaking, in fact the entire house started shaking. She heard Dudley scream and Aunt Petunia crying over her precious china dishes.

No one came to check on Holly.

Holly looked around quizzically. What had happened?

* * *

"Now Tony, I'm just as upset as you are," Pepper said as Tony drove them home from the airport. "But Holly is not a puppy. We cannot just take her away from her aunt and uncle because they are being unfair towards her."

"They are treating her as if she is a dog, Pep!" Tony snapped as he parked his car in the garage of Avengers tower. "I'm sorry I know it's not your fault."

"You have every right to be upset," Pepper said calmly and Tony was glad that she had the patience of an angel. "I'm going to make some calls. Why do you work in your lab? Cool your head off."

Tony nodded as he headed off to the lab, knowing Bruce wouldn't be there since he had gone to some anger management back in Rio or somewhere. He pushed the door opened of his lab and called out. "Jarvis?" that was strange. He entered more alerted. "Jarvis? Wake up, buddy Daddy is home."

He saw a man with long, deep purple robs, silver spectacles, and a long white beard. "Who the hell are you?"

-End of Chapter Four-

 **Guest** -No, I meant "chicken" calendar as in a calendar with chicken pictures. Also, because I'm working on so many stories my chapters are shorter, but I'll try to update as often as I can. Please, be patient.

 **Cherryblossom016** -Yep, huge Stony fan. Don't get me wrong, I love Bucky, but Stony was my first love.


	6. Chapter 5: Wizard of Oz

Chapter Five: Wizard of Oz

Tony looked around the empty lab and decided that this was a bad time for his AI to take a nap. He took a step forward and once again took a step forward towards the man with the purple robes, he didn't look like a crazed fan, but he didn't look like an enemy either.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked again as he stared towards the suit that was positioned towards the far corner of the room. Without Jarvis or any of his technology at hand he would have to get the suit himself and he doubted that Mr. Santa Claus was going to wait until Tony got the suit.

The man smiled at him and folded his hands together. "That is not the kind of welcome that I was expecting, but I cannot blame you, we are mere strangers after all. I'm Albus Dumbledore."

"Tony Stark." Tony raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that you were expecting a party. I assume that you were the one that did something to Jarvis."

Albus nodded, looking slightly impressed. "Yes, it was rather difficult and I must admit that all though I'm older I do know my way around the modern inventions, your I-pods, your twitters, though your AI put up quite a fight. Do not worry I will fix him right up before I leave."

"After what? Our tea party?"

Albus ignored his sarcastic comment and started pacing around the room. "I've come to talk to you Mr. Stark about Holly Lily Potter." He smiled slightly. "I assume that you know who I'm talking about."

Tony nodded. "Midget, about this height, pigtails, kind of scrawny." His face turned serious. "What about her? Do you know her?"

Albus didn't answer for a while. "I knew her parent James and Lily Potter and I was the one that put her under the care of Petunia and Vernon Dursley when her parents were murdered by one of the greatest dark wizards of all times, Lord Voldemort."

"They died in a car crash," Tony corrected.

Albus shook his head. "You and I live in very different worlds Mr. Stark, but in some ways we live in the same world. A world filled with dangers, villains, and we are known as protectors of the people. I'm a wizard Mr. Stark and currently the head master at Hogwarts, a private boarding schools were young wizards such as Holly will receive their magical training."

Tony looked at Albus weirdly. "Ok, buddy I think that someone needs to head up to the psych ward." Albus merely smiled and pointed towards the tools laying down on the table and in a second they became pigeons. Tony looked startled and with a quick snap of his fingers they turned back to the tools they were once were.

"Still think that I belong in a mental institution?" Albus said. "I've been alive for a long time Mr. Stark and I'm telling you the truth. Young Holly is a witch, her parents were great wizards before they were murdered and I had to place her with her guardians which were the only family that she had left."

"Yeah, I guess that calling child protective services was too much for the almighty wizard." Tony said sarcastically as his mind started spinning, was this guy for real? I mean Tony had seen him doing magic. What if he was telling the truth? He knew Holly's past, he had done some sort of magic, Maybe Holly was a witch. Stranger things had happened. "What do you have with Holly?"

"I think it's time that we made different arrangements with Holly." Dumbledore said as he approached him with his hands crossed with each other. "Don't you say?"

Tony looked baffled. "You mean as if she were a dog and might I remind you, great wizard that your arrangements didn't work that well last time? Maybe I should do the arrangement." A small smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. "That is exactly what I'm thinking about Mr. Stark. I already have the perfect candidate in mind. You."

Tony nearly choked on his own spit. "What?"

"You heard me," Dumbledore said correctly. "You're right, and I was wrong before, Holly needs a stable home and she's bound to be different. Early amounts of magic can. . .spill out while Holly is still a child. You know how it is to grow up in the spotlight, to be known for being great I would like to shield Holly from that. Not to mention that your teammates had to. . .accustomed yourselves to different abilities which will be useful for Holly in the future. She needs a stable, normal home for now and she won't find that in the wizarding world."

Tony looked at Albus with a shrug of disbelief. "So you're willing to hand her over to me like that? What if I were a serial killer? What if I were to use her for my lab experiments? What if your beloved wizards keep popping here uninvited like you seem to be doing?" he looked at him in the eye. "You don't scare me, and if you're going to threaten me or erase my memories then I suggest- "

"I will do no such thing," Albus said coolly. "I was merely going to suggest that you think about it. _Vert."_ Tony saw that the computer screens were slowly starting to turn on. "But in return of you taking care of Holly until she reaches the age to attend Hogwarts then I swear to you that I will keep any wizarding enemies out of your boarders," there was a small smile on his face. "I'm guessing that you do not need any more work than you already have."

"Sir?" Tony heard Jarvis' voice croak.

"You sound drunk, Jarvis," Tony said darkly as he turned to stared at Albus. "What is it that you really want? I find this doting supernatural guardian to be a little surreal, don't you think?"

Albus gave him a patient smile. "Believe what you want, Mr. Stark. I'm telling the truth, and I would really appreciate it if we would keep this between us. Have a good day." And with a nod of his head, he was gone.

* * *

"How did it go, Pepper?" Natasha asked once Pepper had returned to the tower. She didn't see Tony anywhere so she guessed that he was back in the lab. Good, he needed the distraction.

She ran a hand though her strawberry blond hair. "Honestly, not the best."

"What happened?" Bruce asked as he looked up from his Science Today magazine and even Steve looked up from some motorcycle magazine. "The Dursleys weren't the nicest people in the neighborhood?"

"They were complete jerks," Pepper sighed as she stared longingly at the glass of scotch on the table. "But honestly we weren't that surprise they weren't exactly nice back at the Stark Expo. They don't seem to care at all about that little girl."

"Where's Tony?" Steve asked.

"I send him towards his lab," Pepper said as she looked towards the bar and then thought screw it and went towards it to get a drink. "I think he needed some peace and quiet."

* * *

Holly was helping Aunt Petunia garden the roses by the front porch, or a better word for it was that Holly was trying to fix the roses while Aunt Petunia gossiped with the only neighbored that they actually liked.

Holly spat when she felt dirt on her lips and nose. Dudley had practically cannonball towards the bed of roses, smudging the pair of jeans that Holly was wearing and covering her pigtails with dirt. She felt a small amount of irritation. "Stupid Dudley!" she hissed as she grabbed a fistful of dirt and threw it towards Dudley and Dudley stuck out his tongue at her.

The sun was burning the back of her neck and she looked around number 4 Privet Drive. She suddenly couldn't stand it here. She wanted to leave.

She looked towards the open gate and then towards her nosy aunt and it wouldn't be so hard.

-End of Chapter Five-


	7. Chapter 6: Gone Girl

Chapter Six: Gone Girl

Albus Dumbledore. What in seven hells was Tony going to do with the sole called wizard that was practically gifting him Holly. "Jarvis?" Tony sighed exhausted as he waited to hear his AI's voice. "Please tell me I was high or drunk during this encounter."

"I wish I could sir," came the AI's cheeky response. "But this is one of the rare chances that you were not. In fact, Albus Dumbledore is very real and he wants you to be Miss Potter's guardian."

"That's what I thought he said," Tony groaned as he went to the minibar and grabbed the best bottle of scotch that he had. "A kid? How am I supposed to take care of a kid? My own father, genius that he may have been didn't exactly offer the best parenting advice. Though I'm sure Rogers would disagree with that statement. J?"

"Sir," the AI sounded unusually concerned. "It seems that Holly has left the Dursleys' property. Though I'm not sure how I even know that information. Did you reprogram me while I was down, sir?" The AI sounded hurt.

"Of course not," Tony said. "But I know someone who did. What do you know so far?"

"I know that she left late, around the time Mr. Dumbledore left," The AI continued. "Though the Dursleys just let the police know and they filed a missing child report."

"Marvelous," Tony said sarcastically as he looked at the map that Jarvis had placed in front of him that showcased the familiar houses of the Dursleys' home and streets. "Any leads or did Dumbledore forgot to add a puppy charm on Holly when he decided to upgrade you to this new, modern version where you apparently know everything that goes on in the Dursleys home."

"I'm afraid not, sir," The AI response. "Mrs. Dursley just informed the police that she tucked in her niece to bed at night, but when she went to check up on her this morning she was nowhere in sight. According to police reports she was hysterical and worried and could not offer any more information."

"I bet," Tony murmured sarcastically as he got into his Iron Man suit. "I'm going to fly up to London, it's easier than flying on a plane. Call Ms. Potts and inform her what happened after her board meeting with the Japanese guys and send an alert to all of the law enforcement in Holly's town that I want all of them looking. She's small, but she couldn't have gotten that far."

"Yes, sir."

It took Tony a couple of hours to reach England even in his Iron Man suit, but at least flying kept him from thinking the worse. In the Dursleys' neighborhood the most dangerous thing that there seemed to be was a particularly vicious nine-year-old who enjoyed torturing the neighborhood cat and dogs. But what if there were something else? Was if there were serial killers lurking in the mist or what if Holly received any of the magical guests that Dumbledore had hinted about earlier?

He noticed that a few of the neighborhood kids that were playing were gaping at him and he retreated himself from the Iron Man suit and into his normal clothes. The last thing he needed was people asking question. He walked across the boring suburban neighborhood, but there didn't seem to be nothing out of the ordinary. Then his cell phone started beeping (which was connected to Jarvis) "What do you have for me, J?"

"Sir, she is nearby," Jarvis said. "Three feet."

"I thought you couldn't pinpoint where she was exactly?"

"Well, some things have changed. I'm not liking it any better myself."

Tony frowned. "Are you sure that you don't mean miles, Jarvis?"

"I know how many inches are in a foot, sir." Was the AI's sarcastic response. Tony didn't respond as he walked three feet which only led him towards a small bridge that led him towards a duck pond. He wandered aimlessly for a few second and he was about to correct Jarvis when he saw her. She was tiny little bundle hidden under the bridge in an old fleece coat that was several sizes too big and probably belong to her cousin Dudley. Her skin was a waxy pale, but her cheeks were flushed bright red. Tony shook her. "Holly? Holly? Midget hey wake up."

Holly stirred a little, but it was clear that she was not waking up and that she was terribly sick. He needed to take her to the hospital. He picked up and said to his headpiece. "Jarvis, where is the nearest hospital?"

"Ten miles from here, sir. St. Andrew's Hospital."

* * *

The elevator doors opened and Tony looked up from the nearly empty waiting room in the children's wing. He saw Clint, Natasha, and Steve enter the waiting room and Tony relaxed slightly when he saw them. He was driving himself crazy with only Jarvis for company.

"We came as soon as you called us," Steve told him helpfully, though he still felt that it was kind of strange for Tony to care over someone that he hardly knew, especially a child.

"Banner and Pepper will be on the next flight," Clint informed him. "The meeting that Pepper was in. . . she couldn't get out of it and she sends you. . .warmest wishes, I'm not going to repeat what she said."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "How's Holly? Any news, where did you find her?"

"They took her to the Intensive Care Unit," Tony ran a hand through his dark hair. "No news yet. I found her sleeping under a bridge. She had a high fever, but she looked ok. The doctors are looking at her right now."

Natasha's jaw clenched. "Poor thing." It was clear that Natasha had a billion questions, but she didn't elaborate though Tony feared that he was going to be questioned sooner or later by the Black Widow. He looked towards the double doors again, but no one was coming.

* * *

The cell that Loki was imprisoned in was hardly comfortable, but he could hardly complain he guessed, after all if it wasn't for his mother's unconditional love Odin would have sent him to be executed. He didn't have any "fatherly" love left for Loki at all. His green eyes went across the small room. There was a small trundle bed, a bookcase filled with his favorite books, and the remaining breakfast tray from this morning.

His eyes narrowed when he saw an unwanted guest at the end of the room. His eyes traveled towards the outside of the room, but noticed that the guards had not noticed this person at all. The lady had long golden hair up in a high ponytail and was wearing a dark blue dress that showed off her incredibly pale skin. She cocked her head slightly. "You're not afraid?"

Loki scoffed. "It is you that should be afraid of me. I see that I'm the only one that can see you."

The lady nodded, impressed. "That is correct. I'm a Lady Arista, Loki Laufeyson."

Loki was about to correct her when he stopped, she was right. He was no longer an Odinson, perhaps he had never been. "Why are you here, Lady Arista? Surely, it's not to bring me company."

"No," Lady Arista said. "But I've heard from several sources that you were close to getting one of the infinity stones-the tesseract and that you know where several others are. I think we could help each other immensely. Now how about I offer you a little deal, if you help me obtain one of the infinity stones I will help you break out of this little cage that you seem to be trapped in."

-End of Chapter Six-


	8. Chapter 7: Magic Charm

Chapter Seven: Magic Charm

"Ow, ow!" Tony complained as Natasha kept pulling him from the arm away from the commotion in the waiting room which seemed to have gotten fuller in the last couple of hours. Pepper and Bruce were scheduled to arrive any minute now and Natasha had taken the opportunity to speak to Tony while Steve preoccupied himself with the wonder tool that was the vending machine. "Romanoff, stop pulling so hard! This is a designer suit! Not to mention that you have a mean grip."

Natasha refused to apologize instead she stared at Tony with beady green eyes and Tony wasn't an idiot he knew that he was screwed. It seemed that Romanoff had cat like senses, either that or Tony was a very bad liar. "All right Stark you better open your damn mouth before I punch your teeth out. Just what the hell is happening?"

Tony opened his mouth a full on lie ready to come out of his mouth by saying that Holly was his great relative from a distant fourth cousin or something, but Natasha's deadly glare was something to truly fear, so instead he just shut his mouth close.

"Tony," Natasha said with a curt look. "Just spit it out."

Tony didn't say anything for a moment, but then he looked at Natasha's concerned green eyes. If someone would believe him, it would be Nat. After years of working as a SHIELD spy she had seen a lot of crazy shit over the years. "So listen. . ." Tony watched as Natasha barely blinked as he told her his story and at the end, he ended up blabbering a little bit which he felt didn't help his case at all. ". . .So this Dumbledore fellow wants me to adopt Holly. I mean has the guy even done a simple google search? How could I possibly raise a child? Romanoff, you do believe me right and you're not going to send me off to a nut house, right?"

"I do believe you," Natasha said. "Believe me, Stark after the life I've lead with SHIELD hardly anything surprises me anymore."

"So do you know this Albus Dumbledore? Surely, Fury tells you these things, you're like a favorite pet."

Natasha gave him a narrowed look as she elaborated at him. "I have never meet him, but I have heard of him. A man name Lord Voldemort from said wizarding world was hurting civilians from New York city a couple of years back. Dumbledore helped Fury clean up the mess."

Tony nodded as he looked towards the hallway hoping that a doctor would appear. "So what should I do? I can't just adopt a child, can't I?"

"Can't you?" Natasha elaborated. "I mean Stark let's be realistic, she would live a horrid life with the Dursleys. Not to mention that you can provide for her a more stable childhood once she starts going through her. . .changes. And you have plenty of money you can give her financial stability- "

"I'm not exactly father material, Natasha," Tony interrupted her. "As if the Daddy Issues weren't obvious enough."

Natasha gave him a sympathetic look. "Tony, you may be shallow and a bit of a smart mouth, but you aren't a bad person, no matter what Howard said or did to imply that so don't beat yourself up." Natasha patted his shoulder. "Untimely, it's your decision but I hope that you make the right one."

* * *

"Stark is going to adopt a little girl?" Clint scoffed as he and Natasha entered the hospital gift shop while Tony went to go bully the doctors and tell Pepper what was happening since she and Bruce had already arrived looking exhausted. "What brought that on? He doesn't even know her."

The gift store was empty and there was only a girl at the cash register who seemed a lot more interested in the cosmopolitan that she reading. Natasha ignored him slightly as she picked up a pink stuff rabbit. "Do you think that Holly will like this? Or is it a bit too girly?"

"Nat," Clint frowned. "Are you hiding something from me?" Natasha didn't respond as she looked between the stuffed animals and some pillows of My Little Pony. "Nat? Is there a reason of why Tony wants to adopt Holly? Is it something you know SHIELD related?"

"You're starting to sound as paranoid as Steve," Natasha gave him a dirty look as she put back down a stuffed rabbit. "And no SHIELD is not related."

"HYDRA then?"

"Yes, Clint, Holly is working for HYDRA." Natasha said sarcastically as she looked at the jewelry display. She plucked forward a necklace that looked like a small wand with a bright orange stone in the middle. "How about this? Do you think she'll like this? The wand can be . . .symbolic."

Clint was obviously not in the mood to discuss the perfect get well gift for Holly. "Natasha, I know you and I know that you and Tony are hiding something. So what is it? Why can't you trust me? I won't tell a soul."

Natasha murmured something in Russian. "It's Tony's story to explain. To make a story short. Holly is part of the wizarding world. She obviously has no powers now, but she will eventually and that's all I'm telling you. She needs a stable home."

"And Tony will provide that?"

"Tony has Pepper," Natasha reminded him as she took the wand necklace and headed towards the cash register to pay. Natasha couldn't help, but feel as if they had just stepped into the belly of the whale.

* * *

"You want to what?" Pepper's usually pale face, just turned ever paler and she looked at Tony as if she couldn't believe what he just said. "You want to adopt Holly?"

He nodded. The doctor had reassured Tony that he will speak to them about Holly soon, but he wanted to speak to Pepper about the whole adoption process. "But Tony why?" she blurted out. "Not that I'm against the idea, Holly needs a good home, but are you sure that this is the best solution."

Tony nodded. "I am, listen Pepper- "he stopped short when he saw Dr. Thompson approaching them. His jaw clenched. The last time that Tony had seen the doctor he had told him that Holly had the beginning stages of pneumonia.

"Dr. Thompson, what's wrong?"

The doctor had a funny look on his face. "It's about Holly Potter, we've run some tests and it seems that her pneumonia is gone."

Pepper looked perplexed. "How is that possible? It's not like she healed herself."

"I don't know," Dr. Thompson admitted. "But she's awake now, she's a little weak, but she'll be fine. She can go home tomorrow. You're very lucky Mr. Stark it was as if it were an act of magic."

-End of Chapter Seven-

Thank you for your reviews!


	9. Chapter 8: Meeting the Avengers

Chapter Eight: Meet the Avengers

When Holly woke up she realized that she was dizzy and she didn't particularly like that feeling. It felt like the kind of dizzy she used to have at the Dursleys house. When Holly had been living with the Dursleys they had never given her so much as a cough drop, so she thanked her lucky stars that she never got sick very often.

Her green eyes opened slightly and when her eyes fully opened they landed on a bright yellow wall that was decorated with teddy bears. . .and a blond man sitting next to her. The man was wearing a brown leather jacket and was drawing something on his sketch pad. He looked up with a kind smile when he saw that she had woken up. "Hello, Holly."

"Hi," Holly said shyly. She realized that she must be in the hospital, that's why she was connected to all of these wires. "How do you know my name?"

The blond smile at her. "Everyone knows your name. You're a special little lady. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. I'm Steve. Steve Rogers."

"Hi," Holly said as she looked around, slightly curious. "Where am I?"

"You're at the hospital, Holly," Steve said, looking slightly concerned. "Do you remember what happened?"

Suddenly everything came flowing back to Holly, how she had meet Tony Starks and Pepper Potts and how she had decided to leave the Dursleys' cruel household. Night had settled sooner than Holly had anticipated and she had decided to fall asleep under a bridge. Apparently that had not been the brightest idea. "I ran away," she quipped. "From my aunt and uncle's house. But why am I in the hospital?"

Steve frowned. "Well, you got very sick. The doctors thought that you had pneumonia, but thankfully it was a false alarm. Tony's here and Pepper, they're speaking with the doctors, but they will be here soon."

Holly flushed as she looked at Steve eagerly. "They are really?"

Steve smiled at her. "Really."

The door opened and Clint, Bruce, and Natasha came in. Natasha raised an eyebrow slightly and said. "May we come in?"

Holly nodded shyly as the three people stepped in. "Hi, Holly. I'm Natasha and this is Dr. Bruce Banner and Clint." Clint and Bruce waved their hands in greeting. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she admitted. "You didn't have to come all this way. I didn't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble at all, kid we needed the adventure." Clint said. "Nat got you a little present. We don't usually hang out with kids so I hope you like it."

Natasha took out a small box with a little ice blue ribbon and handed it to her. "Here you go, Holly."

Holly opened the box and found the wand necklace and she smiled. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Miss Natasha." She fasted the necklace around her small neck. It was a little big on her, but in a few years she would grow into it."

The door open and Pepper and Tony came in. "You're up." He said as he adjusted his sun glasses even though it was starting to look dark outside. "Good, we need to talk, midget."

"Guys, can everyone please leave the room?" Pepper asked as everyone started shuffling to their feet. Holly nervously played with the necklace that Natasha had given her. What could Tony and Pepper possibly say to her? Were they dropping her back at the Dursleys? Would she be forced to live in that miserable house?

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked her playfully as he sat at the edge of her bed. "No offense, but when I saw you, you looked more dead than alive."

"I feel better now, Mr. Stark."

"Call me Tony, Mr. Stark is my father." Tony shrugged. "Actually we wanted to ask you something, Pepper? You make these things sound better."

Pepper straightened up and said gently. "Holly," she paused for a bit. "We gathered-Tony and I that you're quite unhappy at the Dursleys' house and that they might not be the best people to raise you." Tony snorted at Pepper's sugarcoating and Pepper ignored him. "So Tony and I were wondering if you would like to live with us for a while."

"You mean adopt me?" Holly blurted out. It sounded too good to be true. "You mean live with you."

"If you would like," Pepper said, "And if you're happy and if we feel that this is the right move for all of us then yes, we will talk about adoption."

"So what do you say, kiddo?" Tony asked. "Would you like the honor of being a Stark for a while?"

* * *

"So I'll just have to sign this stupid paper and she'll be out of my hands?" Mr. Dursley said as he squinted at the paper, his mustache slowly moving as if he didn't trust Tony Stark's lawyer and Pepper. Pepper had told Tony not to come, because she was in no mood to break up fights and instead told Tony to take Holly sightseeing around London.

Mrs. Dursley and Dudley were all looking at both Pepper and Mr. Conner (Stark's lawyer) with eager and slightly confused eyes. Why would someone want an orphan like Holly Potter?

"That's right," Pepper fought to appear professional. "This signifies that you give up your niece and that now Tony and I will be responsible for her. If we go through with the adoption, then we will contact you." Usually there would be hundreds of more steps especially with both the British and American Adoption Agencies, but Tony had managed to pull a few strings and Natasha had basically bullied Fury to move the process along.

Vernon signed the paper and handed it back to her with a sneer. "Well, there you go and now she's off my hands."

* * *

"You haven't touched any of your books that I got you," the All-Mother, Frigga looked worriedly at the pile of books that were left relatively untouched at the table. Ever since Loki's imprisonment, while Thor and Odin had relatively started ignoring Loki. Frigga had kept in touch with him. Because he son might be traitor, but he was still her baby.

Frigga had tried to make him as comfortable as possible, by giving his treats that other prisoners could not get. Such as a comfy bed, slippers, and the best books possible because she knew how much Loki adored reading. But the books on his table were left untouched.

"It's kind of hard to enjoy reading while I'm locked here for the rest of my life," Loki said dryly from the far corner of the room. "But I'm suppose stuck in this case is better than the alternative."

Frigga nodded. "I'm afraid that you brought this on yourself, Loki. Perhaps in time your father- "

Loki's jaw clenched at the mention of Odin. "He is not my father. How many times must I tell you that? Odin was the one who put me in this cage in the first place!"

Frigga waited until Loki had calmed down to ask him. "What can I get you, Loki? To make your life more comfortable or at the very least bearable."

Loki's ears perked up. These were the words that he had wanted to hear ever though he did feel a bit bad for being a traitor to his mother who was still the only one who saw him as an actual human being. But Loki needed to get out of here and he needed to get his revenge. "I would like a book, Mother. A book that I was reading before all of this happened."

Frigga relaxed a little. "Tell me what it's the title and I shall bring it to you."

Loki paused a bit before he said. "The Stones."

-End of Chapter Eight-

 _LoveSpuck_ -The Dursleys were emotionally and verbally abusive to Holly, never physical. Sorry for the confusion.


	10. Chapter 9: Wand of my Heart

Chapter Nine: Wand of My Heart

"So you've managed to get the book of the stones," Lady Arista said slowly as she pressed a slim hand on Loki's shoulder. To the invisible eye they would just see Loki reading on his bed, while in reality Lady Arista was looking over his shoulder as they looked for information over their stones. "How on earth did you manage that? I thought the all father disliked you."

"He does," Loki grumbled. "Thankfully, the all mother has always had a soft spot for me."

Lady Arista's lips curled up with pleasure. "Well, at least you have the all mother wrapped around your little finger."

Loki stiffened slightly. "I wouldn't say that," he looked at the row of stones that were depicted in the worn out pages. "There are several stones," Loki said. "And unfortunately Thor and his little friends already got a few of them. Which stone were you looking forward to getting?"

"That one," Lady Arista pointed to the purple stone in the center of the page. "It's usually orange at first, but it turns purple when it reaches full power. It's called the soul stone. It can trap souls in another world. I don't know about you, but I would find that very useful."

"Very." Loki smirked back as he looked at the description that was on the page. The soul stone sounded very powerful, much more powerful that then tesseract. "Do you know where is that particular infinity stone? Last time you were here you said that you were going to do some research."

"And I have," Lady Arista had a smile playing on the curve of her lips. "The stone is located in a very interesting place in fact, I think you have visited it yourself once or twice. The moral world-earth."

"Earth," Loki said the name with disgust. Of course the stone would be there. It was painfully ironic. "Of course. I shall help you get it Lady Arista I can assure you that my magic will be more than enough to get the task done at hand and this time without the pesky Avengers following behind us."

Lady Arista smirked. "Then why don't we get out of this sad little cell jail?"

* * *

"Thor!" Frigga cried out as Thor appeared in the throne room with a concern look on his face. His father has sent out one of his guards for him and told him that it was most urgent because it had to deal with his brother. In the throne room he saw his father looking beyond rage, his mother looking concerned and worried, and there was Heimdall with his usual calm face. Obviously something had happened. "Mother," Thor said steadying his mother. "What happened- "

"Loki," Odin interrupted. "Loki is gone. He has escaped. Someone broke into his cell or he got someone to break him out. Either way he is gone."

"What damage has been done?" Thor demanded. "Surely, the guards- "

"The guards didn't see anything," Frigga said gently. "Loki didn't break out of his cell. He was broken out using very advance magic. More than I have taught him. Someone must have helped him."

"But who?" Thor demanded. "Who would betray the king and Asgard?"

Odin snorted. "Many people I imagine and your broth-I mean Loki can be as sly as a snake. Not to worry Thor we already have our best warriors on the lookout. They will search every inch of Asgard."

"Loki will no longer be in Asgard. He knows better." Thor insisted as he looked at Heimdall. "Heimdall, can you not see my brother's whereabouts?"

"I cannot," Heimdall as well sounded frustrated by the answers. "It seems that Loki has been clocked some heavy magic."

"You better inform your friends on earth," Frigga said quickly. "What were they called-oh yes, the Avengers. They deserve to know especially since," there was a hurt look in Freya's eyes as she said. "He might be in search for another infinity stone."

* * *

"I can't believe that you came all this way just to scold me," Tony scoffed as he stared back at Fury. He made sure that the door was close so that Holly wouldn't overhear from the next room even though she was heavily sleeping. Holly had been release from the hospital that morning and Pepper had gone to finish off some business calls, while the rest of the Avengers went sightseeing.

As if turns out, Tony was already regretting not going with them, because exactly ten minutes after they had left, Fury had stomped into the room in all of his eyepatch glory.

"I'm not here to scold you," Fury snapped. "I'm here to knock some sense into you. Literally if that's what it takes. You cannot, and I repeat cannot adopt that little girl."

"Why not?" Tony demanded. "I'm more than capable of taking care of her. I'm a billionaire remember. I'll give Holly everything her crappy surrogate parents didn't give her."

Fury narrowed his eyes at Tony. "Holly is seven years old. She needs someone who is mentally and physically there for her. Not just money wise, all though you might have made Pepper your CEO you still travel heavily around the world. Not to mention that you act like a hypered five-year-old half of the time."

"I take offense to that comment- "Tony piped up.

"Don't care," Fury snapped back. "Are you sure that your sudden change in wanting to become an adoptive father doesn't have something to with Albus Dumbledore, Head of Hogwarts?"

"How did- "

"I have eyes everywhere, Mr. Stark." Fury curled his lips. "I know the little meeting that you two had. How I know is none of your concern. We have meet a few times and I've told him more than once and that I didn't want his kind roaming around here."

"You don't like him?"

"I don't dislike him," Fury said after a while. "The point is, that we're talking about a child Mr. Stark. Not a puppy that you can give to the neighbor when you get bored. Not to mention that I rather not have the magical and real world interact together."

"Yes, because everyone here is so normal." Fury glared. "Look, Fury I want to do this. Not for you. Not for Santa Claus beard, but for Holly. The kid deserves more than what her adoptive parents gave her."

Fury looked impressed by his little speech, because the next thing that came out of his mouth was, "You and the girl are on trial for one month."

* * *

"Well, here we are midget," Tony said as he stopped the car in front of Stark-Avengers tower. The streets of New York like always were busy, but Tony hardly seem to notice. He couldn't believe that he was actually nervous that a seven-year-old wouldn't approve. "Nice, huh?"

"It's beautiful," Holly's eyes sparkled. "How many people live here? Am I really going to live here?"

"You sure are," Pepper squeezed her shoulder. Tony decided it would be best not to tell Holly about the whole one-month plan with Fury. It was better that she didn't find out. "Steve, Bruce, Clint, and Natasha live here. Though Nat and Clint are often on missions, oh and of course Thor when he's in town."

"Thor?" Holly asked confused. "Is that the guy with the hammer?"

"Yes and the flying cape that looks more like a derange curtain." Tony snorted as he pulled back the door. "Believe me, Holly the inside looks way cooler. We're back Jarvis."

"Welcome back, sir." The AI responded.

Holly flinched as she looked around. "W-What's that?"

Tony laughed. "That's just Jarvis, the AI. Holly. He's like a computerize butler. I couldn't do anything without him."

"You flatter me, sir." Jarvis sounded pleased. "Welcome, Miss Potter to Avengers Tower."

-End of Chapter Nine-


	11. Chapter 10: Hide and Seek

Chapter Ten: Hide and Seek

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Tony squawked as he watched Pepper filled her briefcase and a few dozen bags with everything that she was going to need for the conference in Florida. Tony had no idea how she was managing balancing a coffee cup, her phone and having Tony breathing over her shoulder and panicking over the fact that he was responsible for Holly for one simple weekend.

It had been exactly two days since they had brought Holly home with Tony and Pepper serving as temporarily foster parents. Yesterday, they had had a casual day with Holly just the three of them. Pepper had taken her shopping for whatever else she nodded and Tony had instructed her how to move a few remotes so that she didn't have to do anything herself and then they had gone for Chinese food.

It had been simple and Tony had become pretty sure that they would get used to this, what he hadn't anticipated however was that Pepper was going to spring this business trip out of nowhere. For crying out loud this is why Tony had made her CEO in the first place so that she could get as many days off as she (well, Tony) needed.

Pepper was obviously distracted and her blue eyes shifted from the spacious living room to the list that she had made on her I-phone. "Uh, huh. Tony I have to go, it's not like I want too. This meeting with the CEO of Peyton Industries in Florida could close our biggest deal yet. We're talking about thousands of dollars."

"What if I paid you that amount to stay?" He looked over his shoulder, but Holly was not there. Tony guessed that she was probably still asleep. He hated being jet lagged and he guessed that it was worse on a kid.

A twitch of a smile appeared on Pepper's lips as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Nice try, but it's three days, Tony surely you can handle yourself for three days."

"Of course, I can," Tony scoffed. "I have Jarvis and occasionally Bruce. But it's not me that I'm worried about."

Pepper finally seemed to catch on. "Oh, Holly." There was an amused smile on her face, which Tony did not appreciate. "Are you worried about taking care of Holly? Tony, she's seven and besides she's a good girl. You'll probably even forget that she's here in the first place." She gave him another kiss. "You'll both be fine. Just give me a call if you have any questions."

"Why can't we just go with you?"

"Because Tony this was your idea in the first place and you're going to have to take some responsibility for it. Besides you can't come with me, you need to enroll Holly in school and get her use to America. You'll be fine." She paused. "Just please don't forget to feed her, and something order than junk food."

A few feet away from where Pepper and Tony were talking Holly was barely waking up, still feeling slightly sleepy. She couldn't believe that this was honestly her room. Back at the Dursleys she slept in the room underneath the stairs with dust bunnies and spiders-but now here in Stark Tower she was in a beautiful room. It was painted a light violet and everything looked brand new. Holly felt like a princess and every time that she woke up she honestly couldn't believe that this was her life.

But today what woke her up wasn't her jet lag, but a tiny owl that was picking her cheek until she woke up. Her green eyes opened and she saw a tawny colored owl sitting on top of one of her colorful pillows demanding her attention. There was a note in their beak. It had been a while since Holly had received a note from her mysterious stranger. The owl looked happy that it had completed its duty and took some of Holly's cookie from the nightstand. She took the note and unfolded it. She read the note carefully, but in all honesty it didn't make much sense.

 _Destroy the necklace._

* * *

As it turned out Tony had nothing to worry about Holly was more than content to spend the evening eating greasy pizza from a box and letting Tony point out all of the scientific mistakes on The Big Bang Theory. Tony wasn't going to lie, he kind of like having a companion around especially when Pepper was away. Pepper had called once to make sure that Tony had enrolled Holly in school, but Tony had lied and said yes, he would do that tomorrow.

"Tony? Can I ask you something?" Holly asked as she licked the pizza grease from her fingers. It still felt weird calling him Tony, but it felt even weirder calling him. "Mr. Stark."

Tony was on his third slice of pizza and on his fifth glass of wine. "Why do you scream at night?"

Tony nearly choked on his pizza. He was sure that Holly wasn't talking about the fact that he and Pepper had sex. She was talking about that Tony sometimes screamed at night because of his nightmares. The dreams that plagued him. "I have bad dreams," he said wishing that he could avoid the conversation all together. "I'll get you ear plugs."

"Drink warm milk," Holly said with a serious expression on her small face. "Oh, and cookie. That helps with nightmares."

Tony looked at her amused. "How are you so sure?"

She shrugged. "It helped me."

Tony felt his throat tightening as he gave Holly's shoulder a small squeeze. Holly relax slightly as she curled up against him. "Thanks got the advice kid and I promise you that you won't have nightmares for as long as you live here."

* * *

"Earth seems smaller, more delicate," Lady Arista said as she and Loki stood over the statue of Liberty overlooking the city. "Look at their cities. They are so delicate, one little accident and poof half the human population would be gone."

"A little inset would finish these humans off," Loki countered. "If it weren't for their machinery they would be gone in a heartbeat. They really are frail, but Lady Arista we're not here to deal with the measly humans."

"I know, I know," Lady Arista said. "We are here to find the infinity stone."

-End of Chapter Ten-

Sorry, I haven't updated in a while, things have been really busy with school.


	12. Chapter 11: Little Girl 101

**Chapter Eleven: Little Girl 101**

After Pepper had come back from her meeting she had told Natasha that they should have a girls day out and get Holly everything she needed for school (Tony had finally gotten along to enrolling her at a coed private school-Trinity Academy,) She would be starting on Monday and worrywart Pepper was worried that she was still missing a few things that she would need for school and Natasha suggested that they made a day out of it, since she was tired of being at "Boys' Club" all day and she and Pepper hadn't hung out in a while.

Holly had readily agreed to it, even though she was grateful that Tony had gotten her out of the Dursley's house she had been stuck in the tower for over a week since someone named Fury was worried that she would cause an "international incident" though Holly did not know what he meant since she was only seven-and she was tired of eating pizza and watching old reruns of TV shows with Tony since Pepper usually arrive late from the office though they usually tried eating dinner together. The other Avengers weren't around that much, she noticed.

Holly couldn't wait to get out of the house especially with Natasha (who insisted that she call her Auntie Nat) and Pepper and she couldn't wait to explore New York.

Currently they were standing at Sugar's an old ice cream parlor that had been around since Tony was a child apparently and Pepper said that it still was one of his favorite places, while Natasha said rather sarcastically that it was because Tony had never let go of his inner child.

Holly licked her spoon as she watched the two women talk in front of her about business meetings and Natasha's trips. Holly had gotten two scoops of peppermint ice cream her favorite, while Natasha had gotten chocolate chip, and Pepper strawberry.

"Ok, ladies how about we hit the road." Natasha turned to Pepper. "Where should we go first."

"I think we should get Holly some clothes first," Pepper though thoughtfully. Holly had been wearing the same blue dress ever since she had left England (that Jarvis had washed and pressed every morning) and even though Holly had brought a few dresses from the Dursleys' they were clearly hand me downs and they were too small on Holly already. Tony had told Pepper to get Holly whatever she needed as long as she included one his favorite band t-shirts along with it which Pepper did not agreed too. "What do you say, Holly? Then we can spend the day doing whatever you want. Sound good?"

Holly nodded shyly as she took Natasha's hand (she needed to remember to call her Auntie Nat) and went towards the busy streets of New York city.

They stopped on the first store that Pepper saw and entered it. It was nearly empty except for a woman wearing too much red lipstick and what looked like a blond wig. "Miss Potts." The woman gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, Darla." Pepper said in a business like tone. She had obviously made an appointment before they had come. "This is a dear friend of mine Natasha Romanoff and this is the little girl I was talking to you about, Holly Potter."

Darla gave Holly and Natasha equal kisses on the cheeks, much to Nat's amusement. "Welcome, welcome Miss Holly. Do you see anything that you would like to try on?"

Holly looked around the store until she saw a red dress with the picture of a black puppy at the pocket with a white turtleneck. "That one," she blurted out. "I like dogs, especially black ones."

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully. "Great, you like dogs. Why couldn't you have liked cats?"

* * *

"I thought you already decorated her room," Steve said frowning as he lung around four cans of paint towards one of the many empty rooms of Stark Tower. "You're going to decorate it again."

"You're acting like a bored housewife," Clint snorted. "Or one of those old ladies who dresses their small Chihuahuas with frilly dog dresses."

Tony sighed as he rolled his eyes at the two blonds. "Bruce, would you mind explaining. I would rather not hold my breath for these two idols to get it." Steve frowned. Mr. Red White and Blue had never really approved of swearing even the word "damn" had him nearly fainting.

Bruce gave them a sympathetic smile at both of them. He was the calmest of the four even if he was as Tony said, a giant, green monster. "Tony is building a playroom that connects to Holly's room."

"A playroom?"

"Yes, Rogers a playroom. The title is pretty self-explanatory. A playroom is where you play." Tony said as he swung the room open. "Holly needs a place where she can play with her dolls and her school friends, and gush over One Direction without me hearing about it. Besides no one is using this room. Think of it as a congratulation present for getting into Trinity Academy."

"I thought you paid the school to accept her." Bruce frowned.

Tony shrugged. "That's beside the point. Besides Holly is just a little behind. She'll get it. Besides she has a genius living under her roof." Steve rolled his eyes and Clint murmured something under his breathe.

"Still, Stark not to burst your bubble, but shouldn't you wait until Fury's trial period is over before starting to give Holly. . .all of this. It would be like giving a kid candy and then taking it away." Clint blurted out.

Tony gave Clint a hard look. "I'm not worried about Fury and I don't care that he's being paranoid about this. I don't want Holly to go to an orphanage or back to the Dursleys because Fury is worried about something that has not even happened yet. Holly is a little girl, not an international incident. The sooner that Fury can get that through his thick head, the better." Tony paused. "What do you think Bruce? Do you think that Holly would like her very own robot?"

"Tony why on earth would a seven-year-old girl want a robot."

"Oh, come on what kid wouldn't want a robot, I could program it to do a bunch of cool things, to love Justin Bieber and High School Musical and the Disney Channel and whatever else seven-year-old girls like."

Before Steve and the others could echo what a terrible idea that was, they heard thunder. Steve grimaced. "Thor. This can't be good."

* * *

One hour later thanks to Pepper's "appointments" and the fact that Pepper planned everything in advance they had finished their shopping trip. Holly had some new clothes and some new shoes.

"Where to next ladies?" Natasha asked as she straightened her sunglasses. "Preferably someplace without the word mall or a food court." Holly had noticed that Natasha had look kind of queasy with each moment that they spent shopping either Nat had some kind of mall phobia or shopping was her least favorite activity.

"I want to go to the zoo," Holly said quickly. "I've always wanted to the see the animals. The penguins are the best." Dudley had gone to the zoo last year for his birthday, but Holly like always had been left with the neighbor.

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. "Zoo is good. Zoo is great. Let's go."

Holly took a step forward, but felt someone pulling her arm. She turned her head slightly and saw a pale, smirking face and green eyes. "Holly!" she heard Pepper shrieked.

She saw that Natasha pulled out a gun and motioned it towards the man that was holding her, the man flickered something in the air and Natasha grunted in pain. Before she could scream for help she felt everything becoming blurry.

-End of Chapter Eleven-


	13. Chapter 12: Thor

**Chapter Twelve: Thor**

"Why on earth is Thor here anyway?" Tony asked as he looked out his window and saw that the thunder was mostly clearing off. "You think we gave him enough pop tarts to last a lifetime."

"Maybe he came over to see Jane," Steve volunteered. Tony looked at him perplexed.

"Isn't she off in some exploration arc in Antarctica or the other place with the penguins and no cell reception?"

Bruce shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough."

"Sir, you have a guest." The AI let him know as a second later Thor came in already dressed in his usual Asgardian attire along with his red cape and heavy hammer. He looked around and his face relaxed slightly when he saw them, but he did not smile.

"My friends," he said in his booming voice as he approach them.

"Thor," Clint greeted him as he fiddled with one of his arrows like he always did when he was nervous. "How can we help?"

"I was hoping you would say that," Thor looked around the room they were standing in a bit confused for a while as he looked at the plush toys that Tony had Jarvis order from Amazon. He picked up a stuffed horse and looked at it curiously. "Forgive me, Stark, I did not know that you and Lady Pepper were expecting an infant. Congratulations, I shall send you a bottle of our best Asgardian wine next time."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Tony said. "Last time you gave me some of your special Asgardian wine I passed out for three days. Besides Pepper and I are not expecting a baby. It's complicated, I'm taking care of a little girl, um Holly she's my ward at least until Fury gives us his higher power to make her something else."

"Thor," Steve gave him a funny looking smile. "No offense, did you just come here to chitchat because- "

"Alas I have not Captain Rogers," Thor's face turned serious again. "My brother is missing. He has escaped his cell. My father thought it would be wise to inform you."

There was an awkward pause which Tony helpfully broke. "And you just told us now? You could have mention it five minutes ago before we all started on our life stories."

"I apologize," but Thor didn't look very sorry. "I wanted to come sooner, but my father hope that Heimdall would be able to track Loki down. Alas, he has failed and I've come here because knowing my brother he's either seeking revenge or he's on the search for another infinity stone."

"Another one?" Clint frowned. "Jesus, how many of your mystical infinity stones are there?"

"A few," Thor admitted. "Most of them are safely tucked away and prevent beings like my brother to manage to get them. Some of them are still scattered all over the universe. We think that one of them might be here on earth."

Tony let out a series of curse words. "Geez, Thor can't you and your little infinity stones settle somewhere else? As if we don't have enough on our plate."

"Miss Romanoff and Miss Potts have arrived, Sir," Jarvis said breaking them up from their arguing. The team turned to them and they seem to jolt awake as Natasha came limping to the room, practically being carried by Pepper.

Her clothes were dirty as if she had fallen and her arm seemed to have swollen to half her side. Pepper looked pale as she looked at Tony. "Tony- "

Tony and Clint helped Pepper get Natasha to the couch, while Bruce started checking on her wounds. "Pep, what happened?"

Natasha let out a series of curse words as Bruce started unrolling her bandages. Her arm probably felt even worse than it looks. Thor stared at Natasha's arm curiously as Thor started telling him instructions in how to mend her injured arm.

"It was Loki," Pepper said as she bit her lip. "At least from what I remember seeing in the news. Yes, it had to be him- "

Tony finally seemed to notice that one small person was missing. "Hey, where's the midget?"

From where she was cursing at Thor and Bruce with equal passion, Natasha popped her head aside and gave Tony a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry Stark I tried. I had a gun on me and everything, but a gun doesn't really compare to magic- "

Realization seemed to finally hit Tony. Steve blubbered. "You mean- "

Tony interrupted him. "-THAT SON OF A BITCH TOOK HOLLY?"

* * *

"Ow, Bruce," Natasha gave Bruce the dirtiest look that she could muster even though Banner was trying as hard as he could to be gentle. But it was hard since her arm has swelled up to the size of almost her thigh. "Would it kill you to be gentle."

Natasha had refused to go to the ER or to the SHIELD medical doctors, preferring Bruce to take care of it, even though as Bruce said, a few months of helping the sick in India did not mean that he was full doctor material, especially since Loki had attacked Natasha with something foreign.

"Sorry, Nat." Bruce said as he wiped some antiseptic on it. "But I need to get the swelling down."

"Not to worry, Lady Natasha," Thor puffed up his chest, "Loki has used some special herb powder on you to paralyze you in order to capture Metal Man's ward. I have been on the receiving end of many of his foul tricks. Do not worry, you will be all right in a day or two."

Natasha gave him an icy glare. "Thanks, thanks a lot."

"Tony," Steve tried to calm down Tony from the other end of the room where he had used Jarvis to hack into every security camera in New York and had been furiously going through it for the past half hour. "You need to calm down, it was less than an hour ago, surely we will able to track Holly and Loki down, I swear that I won't let Loki hurt her, she's just a kid- "

"Captain," Tony said icily. "We're talking about the guy who killed 80 people in two days and practically drowns puppies for sport. Besides I already tracked Loki down, well at least before he promptly disappeared again." He showed him the video of Loki capturing Holly, only to disappear again. "This video leads up to practically nowhere. Thor, can't your special seeing eye guy, I don't know be useful."

Thor shook his head. "Heimdall, cannot be of help. Loki has been magically cloaked and we cannot be aware of his location."

"Wonderful. Just wonderful. I guess we're going to have to use good old fashion force then."

* * *

"Absolutely not," Minerva McGonagall's thin lips pinched into a frown. "Over my dead body will Holly Potter attend IIlvermorny when she turns eleven." She frowned when she mentioned the name of the American Wizarding School, who she thought was a poor comparison to Hogwarts.

"I disagree with you, Minerva," came Snape's silky voice. "Since Albus gave up the Potter's child to those Muggles, perhaps she will be best off with those of her kind. She is Potter's girl, and we have had enough of Potter to last us a century."

Minerva gave him a dirty look. "Holly Potter is the daughter of Lily and James Potter, who were both educated here and gave up their lives fighting He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Albus, Holly Potter belongs at Hogwarts, and if I have to adopt her myself- "

"Minerva, Severus," Albus said tiredly from his desk. "Nothing has been decided yet, it was a mere suggestion. Holly Potter is seven years old, she still has a long way before she attends Hogwarts."

-End of Chapter Twelve-

Thanks for your reviews! I'm sorry, about the fact that I wrote that Pepper ate strawberry ice cream, I totally forgot about that. I tried fixing it, but the website is not cooperation, so please ignore that small detail.


	14. Chapter 13: Safety Net

Chapter Thirteen: Safety Net

Holly woke up and the first thing that she felt was frightened out of her mind. Where was she? Her tiny body uncoiled itself from where she was tangled around what looked like a bunch of rocks. She was in some cave of some sort.

Her green eyes opened as she looked around the small cave taking ahold of her surroundings. She suddenly felt very cold. She turned her head slightly and saw a dark hair man and a woman arguing not caring in the least that Holly was sitting down a few feet away.

She uncoiled her feet and rubbed the back of her head trying to remember what had happened, but honestly it was kind of a blur. She remembers shopping with Pepper and Natasha and then being grabbed. She had heard Natasha cried out in pain, but that had been it.

Holly had been taken by this strange dark hair man that was now arguing with this woman.

"You didn't have to take the girl," the woman spat. "I have no use for useless children not to mention that I doubt that she is one of the infinity stones."

"The light energy is coming from her," Loki replied back coldly. "It must mean something."

Lady Arista pursed her lips as if she didn't believe a word, but didn't elaborate. "How strange thought that the infinity stone is in a mere child."

"Or maybe on said child," Loki said, his eyes flashing as he turned towards Holly and saw that she was awake. He took sharp steps forward and Holly curled herself into a little ball hoping to get away from him.

Loki grabbed her by the collar of her dress. "Play nice and do everything I say, you peasant and you won't get hurt."

"I didn't do anything to you," Holly grumbled forcing herself to be brave as she forced herself to stare at those green eyes. They were the same shade of green as her, only his were filled with more malice.

Loki's lip curled into a manipulative smirk. "Well, I see that you're the Avengers newest little pet, but you're not one of them. You don't have anything that makes you stand out, only," he paused for a bit as he grabbed the pendant around her neck and twisted it slightly. It was in the shape of a wand and had an orange stone in the middle. "Who gave this to you?" Loki demanded, his fingers never leaving the wand.

Holly threw him a dirty look as she arched her head forward. "My aunt Tasha. Let me go, please. Take me home."

"I don't think so, especially not yet," he ripped the necklace from her neck with one small pull, causing Holly to land on her bottom and for Loki to get the necklace from his grip.

"That's mine!" Holly hissed as she went towards to retrieve the necklace, but she was obviously too small and slow for Loki's strength. Loki simply grabbed her from her pigtails and threw her towards the small corner where she had just woken up from.

"Loki," Lady Arista said obviously annoyed. "Just get rid of the little human urchin already. It's not that hard or would you like me to do the honors."

"Not, just yet," Loki said slowly as he looked back at Holly. "She seems to have some tie to the Avengers as if they adopted her or something. Let's wait. Who knows maybe it will be in our best interest after all and we can use her as some form of leverage."

Arista looked doubtful, but didn't comment anymore as she turned toward Loki and looked at the necklace that he was holding. "And what is that?"

"I got it from the little brat," he said as he looked at the necklace. "It seems like a simple human necklace make of fake gold in the shape of a stick, but look at the stone inside. It seemed that it used to be orange, but it's slowly turning lavender."

Arista snatched the necklace from him, her lips pulling into a smile. "We did it, we found the soul stone-the infinity stone."

Loki held his breath, "Are you sure?"

"Quite sure," Arista murmured as she stared at the tiny stone in between her fingers. "It's slowly turning lavender, but when it becomes darker that's when the real fun will begin."

* * *

"Damn it, Stark, pull yourself away I need room to breathe, damn it," Fury hissed at Tony and it didn't help that Tony was inches away from Fury's face. Apparently Fury was big on the whole personal space issue. "I am fucking serious Stark, either you pull back or I will throw everyone out of this room."

Tony jaw clenched. "Fine, you don't have to be such a baby about it." The others that Fury was talking about was everyone that was currently held up at his office at the moment which included the Avengers and Pepper who were looking for any information regarding Holly's capture via Loki. Right now after much persisting from Nat, Steve, and Tony Fury had most of his best agents and even agent Coulson looking for any scrap of evidence that Loki might have left behind which was almost none to say the least.

Fury sighed as he looked at the grim faces that were staring back at him. "I told you before and I'll tell you again. We'll call you if we find out something. We do not need all you breathing down our backs, understood?"

"I don't trust you," Tony said. "Especially since lying seems to be your middle name and your secrets have secrets."

Fury's jaw clenched. "Stark, Loki capture what looks like a human child and he's back to cause more mayhem. Of course he's my first priority here!"

"Director Fury," Coulson said as he stepped foot in the tensioned filled room.

Steve turned to Coulson. "Did you find anything, a trace?"

Coulson shook his head. "No, nothing I'm sorry, but knowing Loki it shouldn't be too long."

Pepper spoke up, her voice trembling slightly. "I'm sorry too long for what?"

Coulson hesitated a bit before he said. "Too long before Loki starts making his entrance or in this case his demands for him to give Holly back."

* * *

They were talking. It seemed like hours since Loki had deposited Holly in the same corner that she had woken up from. They had been talking ever since Loki had taken the necklace from Holly. They seemed to be arguing with each other and Holly could only hear the words "trade" "books" and "Asgard."

The necklace was on top of a small rock, but Holly didn't dare grab it, but her eyes kept flickering towards it. It was the necklace that Natasha had given her, she wanted it back. Her eyes closed, remembering how the necklace felt around her finger as she twisted it when she was nervous. Her eyes opened and she felt something hard in her hand. The necklace.

How had it come to her from all the way over there. She gasped when she saw that the stone was bright purple and that the necklace seemed to be trembling by itself.

Loki turned around swiftly looking at the trembling necklace in Holly's hand. "What did you- "

He didn't get to finish his sentence before everything exploded covering them up in a bright, purple light.

-End of Chapter Thirteen-


	15. Chapter 14: Hogwarts, A History

Chapter Fourteen: Hogwarts, A History

Holly woke up and for once she didn't felt like her head was spinning. She only hope that she was nowhere near Loki or Lady Arista. Her eyes opened and her green eyes blinked as her mouth gave a little gasp. There was a huge castle in the back part of her in the color of gray that seemed to reach the sky, there were bright lights shining in the distance.

Holly slowly stood up. Where was she? She was not in the cave with Loki and Lady Arista. She was not in New York either, and this was not the neighborhood that she had lived in with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

Her eyes caught the huge tree that was standing a few feet away from her. It was large with many roots and branches. It was pretty and kind of creepy at the same time. Holly wanted to touch it.

She reached forward with her left hand towards the trunk of the tree before someone rudely pinched her arm. "Stupid girl! What are you doing? That's the Whomping Willow, do you want to get your head detached from your body."

Holly flinched when she heard the unfamiliar angry voice and saw a dark haired man with greasy hair, black robes, a pale face, and a long sharp nose glaring at her. The dark hair man stopped once when he looked at her. He seemed to grow even paler. "Lily's eyes."

"Lily was my mother's name," Holly quipped, feeling that this dark haired man was a better companion than Loki. "My name is Holly Potter."

"I see," Snape's lips pinched. "You have your father's holier than thou attitude. How in Merlin's name did you get here?"

"Who's Merlin? I came here because Loki wouldn't give me back my necklace." She touched the pocket of her coat where she had stuffed the necklace.

Snape ignored her as he gripped her little arm and pulled her towards the school grounds. The grounds were filled with students wearing dark robes and different colored ties. They all looked at Holly with curiosity.

"You," Snape glared towards a twelve-year-old boy with a red and gold tie. "Find your head of house and tell her to meet me here."

"Why me- "

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape sneered. "Do you want to make it fifty, Mr. Smith?"

A second later the boy left and a woman with long robes appeared wearing glasses and a witch's hat. She was older and staring at both Severus and Holly with wonder. "Severus, where did that child come from?"

"That's what I would like know," Snape said. "She was by the Whomping Willow. Tell her who you are girl."

"Really Severus there is no need to frighten the girl," Minerva said as she looked at Holly kindly, "What is your name, child?"

"Holly." Holly said. "Holly Lily Potter."

Severus and Minerva exchanged looks. "And how did you get here, Holly?"

Holly fiddled from foot to foot. "I don't know," she admitted. She didn't really know how to explain the whole Tony-Loki-Arista-magic necklace situation. "I just woke up here. How can I go back home to New York?"

"You won't be going to New York anytime soon." Severus sneered.

"Severus," Minerva said in a warning tone as she turned to Holly with a more warming smile. "Please ignore him, dear and follow me. I'm Minerva McGonagall."

Holly gladly did as she was told because McGonagall looked far nicer than Snape. "Um, Miss McGonagall, where are we going?"

"To see the headmaster, Miss Potter."

* * *

"What happened?" Arista screamed to Loki as she glared at him. "Where is the little brat?"

Loki's jaw clenched as he looked around. "I don't know." There had been a huge amount of light and now Tony Stark's brat was nowhere to be found. "More importantly where's the necklace?" A flash of anger seemed to pass through Arista's eyes as she looked around the musty cave, destroying whatever stood in her way.

"It's gone," her eyes flashed. "Loki, the infinity stone is gone. The soul stone. The soul traps people in another world and now the little brat has shifted off to who knows where."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Could you be more specific."

"If I could we would not be in this mess right now." Arista snapped. "We need to find them and fast before that little brat uses all of the power of the infinity stone."

* * *

"Stark," there was a rare amount of glee on Fury's voice as he called out Tony's name. "We found here. Or at least perhaps some trace of her."

"Where is she?" Steve asked as he looked at the screen and frowned. He was still barely getting used to modern technology and all he understood was that there was a bunch of squiggly lines all over the place.

"Outside of Brooklyn," Fury said. "Well in that direction, in the outskirts of New York. There was some explosion. Near some cave- "

"Got it," Tony said as he looked over his shoulder. "Steve, Barton, Romanoff, Banner let's go."

He paused on the doorway and saw Pepper standing there with a worried expression. "Hey," Tony said softening a bit as he caressed her cheek. "We'll get her back and you know I always keep my promises."

"Vaguely." Pepper gave him a tiny smile. "Just come home safe and don't let Loki hurt either one of you."

Tony nodded. "Reindeer games won't know what hit him. Stay here, Pep until we get everything sorted out."

Pepper shook her head. "I'll head back to the tower, I want to get things ready in case Holly or the others need something. I'll have Jarvis there and whatever contraption you build this time to be safe."

He smiled as he looked at Bruce who was still sitting firmly on his chair. "Banner, come on what are you waiting for?"

Bruce gave him a crooked smile. "I think I'll just sit this one out, Tony. I really don't want to destroy New York a second time."

"Come on," Tony whined. "What if you need to smash some stuff?"

"Tony," Pepper scolded. "Don't bully, Bruce."

Bruce winced. "That is exactly what I want to avoid Tony." Bruce sighed. "All right, I'll come with you, but I'm staying in the car and I'm not, err, turning green unless I have too."

* * *

"Chocolate Frogs." Holly's eyes widened when she saw a revolving door turned slightly leading towards a row of stairs once Minerva said the password.

"This is the headmaster's office?" Holly murmured as she, Minerva, and Snape walked up the stairs.

"Yes," was Snape's curt reply. "Albus. You have a visitor."

Holly's eyes widened as she reached a messy office with thousands of books and portraits that moved. Some of them waved hello to her, while some snickered. What was this place? An older man with a white beard and purple robes turned to her with a smile. "Ah, yes Holly welcome to Hogwarts. I've been expecting you."

-End of Chapter Fourteen-

Thanks for your reviews!


	16. Chapter 15: The Potter Family

Chapter Fifteen: The Potter Family

"What do you mean you lost her?" Tony scowled at the bruised god in front of him who was now being safely held captive by Thor. Loki had not lasted long with his brother and the rest of the fellow Avengers trailing behind him (he still wasn't overly fond of Hulk.) It also didn't help that Lady Arista had left to search for Holly and had been getting frustrated with both Loki and herself because even with both their magic combine they couldn't find one measly brat. "How the fuck do you lose a seven-year-old?"

"I didn't lose her," Loki said with a sneered. "As I was telling your big oaf here, your little brat managed to use the infinity stone and transported herself I know not where. We have not been able to find her."

"We?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow with her gun safely at her side. "Who's we, Loki?"

Loki smirked.

"You better answer Reindeer games or believe me when I say I'll bring back our green friend to teach you a thing or two."

"Fine. I've been working along Lady Arista for a common goal."

"The sorceress?" Thor looked disgusted. "Everything that comes out of her mind is poison. Tell me, brother you must know of a way to get Lady Holly back to Stark."

Loki looked annoyed. "Believe me, brother I would like to get my hands on the beloved Lady Holly myself, but I have no idea where the idiot transported herself."

Steve's look hardened as he looked at Thor. "Can't your friend, um Heimdall or something help locate her?"

Thor nodded. "It's worth a try."

* * *

"Hello, Holly." Albus said again as the stunned Holly who had no idea where she should look-at the curious looking portraits that seemed to be moving, at Albus, or at the Phoenix sitting by the window. "I know it's a bit different from the world that you are used to live in, but I promise that you can trust me."

Holly stared back at him with owlish green eyes not sure what to say, her eyes landed on the plaque that read HEADMASTER ALBUS DUMBLEDORE. "You're the headmaster?" she asked again feeling stupid. "For this big school?"

Severus snorted and Holly blushed, Albus noticed this and said kindly. "Minerva, Severus, I hope to have a chat privately with this young lady if you wouldn't mind. Kindly shut the door.

Neither Minerva nor Snape seemed particular eager to leave, but did as they were told. Once they alone, Albus turned to Holly. "Please sit down, Holly. May I get you anything to drink? Milk? Tea? Pumpkin juice."

"Pumpkin juice is fine." Holly said shyly. She had never really drank pumpkin juice before. All Tony and Pepper had was apple or orange juice. She saw as Albus tapped his wand in the air and a cool glass of pumpkin juice appeared in her hand.

Holly gaped. "How did you do that?"

Albus chuckled. "Magic."

"No, really how."

"It is magic my dear child; I am not lying to you." Albus said warmly. "You see this place is not like your home in New York, or your home in England, this place is an entirely different world. A magical world. A world filled with magic and creatures that you have never seen before." He leaned back in his chair. "Tell me, Holly are you happy living with Pepper and Tony in New York?"

Holly nodded.

"Do you miss living with your Aunt Petunia." Holly hesitated. "You won't get in trouble for your answer. You tell me honestly."

"No, I don't miss it," Holly shifted nervously. "I Always-I always had the feeling that they didn't like me."

Albus gave her a sad looking sort of smile. "People are hard creatures to understand Holly and I know that life was difficult with them sometimes. I trust that you receive my owls?" His eyes twinkled.

Holly's eyes widened. "You sent Mr. Owl? The one that send me those letters and little gifts?"

"I did." Albus said. "They were designed as little presents-they were sort of selfish of me I guess. I wanted you to see the world that your parents came from."

"You knew my parents?"

Albus nodded slowly. "They went to this school, Hogwarts and remained remember and in people's hearts long after they left. Lily and James Potter," he gave her a sad, sort of look. "How tragic for someone so young to lose their lives." He decided not to tell Holly that her parents had been in fact murdered by Voldemort. She was still too young; he would let her think that for a couple of more years. "They were wizards, Holly and you my dear are a witch and I have no doubt in my heart that you are as talented as your mother."

Holly blinked at her. "I can't be a witch, can I? They don't exist, do they? The only exist in books or in fairytales."

Albus smiled at her. "We live in a very different kind of world, Holly. A different world from humans, but I'm sure Tony and Pepper will guide you along the way when then time is right."

Holly looked up at him. "Will I have powers like my mom and dad?"

"Eventually, your powers will develop in a few years, but Holly remember that your magic abilities should never be a reason for you to hurt anyone."

"I wouldn't."

"I know you wouldn't." Albus said. "Now do you have any questions for me?"

Holly nodded. "Will I-will I one day come to school here? The same school that my parents went to?"

Albus smiled. "If you wish or maybe you will want to go someplace closer to home. Now it's time to home, Holly I'm sure Tony and Miss Potts are worried about you." He went towards the fireplace and grabbed a little bag. "Hold my hand, Holly."

"What is that?" she asked curiously.

"Floo powder."

* * *

She had used all of it. That was the only thing that went through Arista's mind as she stood, floating over New York city. She had used all of it. That was one of the things that she hadn't told Loki. That particular infinity stone was useful only one time. It wouldn't be able to be used again for the next 1000 years at the earliest.

"What do you mean, Loki doesn't have her? Where are you, Tony? I'll come there soon."

That voice sounded familiar to Arista. She was sure that she had heard it before when they had taken Holly. Was the hurried woman her mother? She was hurrying towards her vehicle.

Revenge, that was the first thing that came to Arista's mind as she presented herself in front of Pepper. "Your ward has cause me the greatest displeasure, she had taken from me what I most desired, what I deserved."

"Holly?" Pepper said. "Holly? Do you know where she is?"

Arista didn't answer she flexed her wrist just so, Pepper let out a choking sound as she struggled to breath. What was she doing to her? "I have no desire to find her, but one thing that I never get tired of is revenge and preying on the innocent well that always has the desire effect."

Pepper was now choking on blood as crimson splotches fell on the ground, her eyes were wide as blood started pouring out of her nose. "Please."

Arista ignored her pleas. "Please give Loki my regards." Arista turned around and left leaving Pepper. She couldn't breathe. There was blood everyone. She could hear people screaming around her and an ambulance siren, but that was all.

-End of Chapter Fifteen-


	17. Chapter 16: The News

Chapter Sixteen: The News

"Sir," Jarvis' voice shook Tony up slightly, he was currently flying over Manhattan trying to find a glimpse of Holly anywhere. Maybe she had managed to hide somewhere close by if the stone hadn't taken her out of Manhattan. "Headmaster Albus Dumbledore is at the tower with Miss Potter. He is requesting to speak to you. Miss Potter is alive and well."

Tony could practically feel his bones relax when he heard the news. "Holly's back? She's safe?"

"That's what I just said, sir." Came the AI's slightly sarcastic response, which Tony choose to ignore as he flew towards the tower. Holly and Albus were in the living room while Holly explained in greater detail what each object was and Albus seemed fascinated with it. Tony wondered why it was so surprising, since in the first place he was the one that had the magic wand. But maybe it was a foreign world thing, after all Thor got impress with a toaster.

Tony removed the suit and Holly brightened when she saw him and immediately ran towards him, hugging him tightly. "You came back?" she seemed to say it as a question.

"Of course I came back," Tony said with a smile as he put her down. "You're not calling me a liar are you?" he turned to Albus. "So Headmaster would you like a drink?"

Albus smiled. "I would be delighted, now Miss Potter if you would be so kind as to bring me an extra pen." Holly went to do as she was told and Albus nodded. "That was a distraction ploy so that we could talk alone."

"I figured." Tony said as he poured two whiskies. "So the stone took her to you? Thor mentioned it could send you to different dimensions or something like that. I was thinking more along the lines of hell. Not Hogwarts."

"The infinity stones work in mysterious ways." Albus said gently. "They have great power and we must not underestimate those who wield it."

Tony nodded as he took a sip of his drink. "Holly knows doesn't she? About her being a witch."

Albus nodded. "I did. I told her. I hope it would not upset you, but I thought it would be best to tell Holly about her real parents after her life with the Dursleys. We won't take her away if you don't want too. If I may say so, Mr. Stark you seemed to have grown fond of her."

Tony didn't argue, but he said as he clutched his glass of whisky. "But you do want her to go away eventually, don't you? You're going to take her away."

Albus didn't argue with him there. "At age 11, Holly will receive a letter from Hogwarts telling her that she has a place in the school where her parents themselves learned magic. School is for seven years with summer and winter breaks. I would prefer it, if Holly went to Hogwarts where her parents learned magic, but you're her guardian now Mr. Stark you and Miss Potts. There is also a magic school in America and I wouldn't blame you if you wanted Holly to stay closer to home. You have a long time to decide Mr. Stark, so don't rush into things."

"Here is your pen, Headmaster," Holly said, her cheeks flushing.

Albus smiled at her and took the pen. "Thank you, Holly I have a surprise for you. If you ever need to get in contact with me- "a familiar, tiny owl flew inside the tower and nuzzle against Holly's chest. "I'm sure you remember your companion."

"Mr. Owl!"

"If you need to get in contact with me, Mr. Owl will deliver the messages himself personally."

"An owl, really?" Tony murmured. "A dog might have been nice."

Dumbledore smiled. "Good evening, Holly. Mr. Stark." Without another moment's noticed he apparated and that was that. Tony murmured something under his breath and then turned to Holly. "Holly, are you sure you're ok? Reindeer games didn't hurt you?"

"Who?"

"Loki," Tony elaborated. "Dark hair? Too full of himself? A bit of a drama queen?"

"No, he didn't hurt me." Holly said as she reached into her pocket for the stone. "But my stone, I think it's broken." It had turned into the original shade it had been when Natasha had first gifted it to her.

Tony studied the stone. "Honestly, I think it's better that it got broken. Don't worry Romanoff will understand. Do you mind if we keep it for a little while, to study it?"

Holly shook her head, no. "Mr. Stark- "

"Tony," Tony said. "We went over this, Tony. Mr. Stark is and will always be my father."

"Tony," Holly said, the word unsure on her lips. "There was another woman with Loki. . .she was mean."

Tony frowned. "Yeah, I know who you're talking about. Don't worry about her, Thor will take care of her. She couldn't have gotten far."

"Sir," Jarvis said. "Director Fury is requesting entry- "before he could finish, Fury strolled through the elevator doors causing Tony to roll his eyes. "You know you could at least be polite and wait until Jarvis is finished." Tony noticed that there was something strange about the man. He looked nervous and sort of sickly. "What's wrong eyepatch? Did someone steal your trench coat again?" Strangely though Fury didn't even eye roll at his suggestions and Tony knew that this was bad.

He needed another drink and he needed to get Holly away from Fury's poisonous vapors. "Um, Holly why don't you take Mr. Tootsie Pop to your room I'm sure Jarvis or Dummy can help you find a cage somewhere."

Holly nodded as she excitedly took Mr. Owl towards her room, Tony turned towards Fury before finishing his drink. "Talk. Now."

"There has been a situation," Fury said slowly. "A bad one and Stark I need you to calm down, I don't need you to fly off the handle especially after you insisted about keeping that child- "

Tony rolled his eyes. "Is this about Holly again, because Nick, I- "

"It's about Pepper," Fury seemed to fiddled a lot. "I got a call from Memorial Hospital and there is no easy way to say this- "

Tony felt himself go cold all over, his throat hurt and everything seemed to spin at the moment. Tony felt like Fury was talking very slowly. "Tell me!"

It took another moment for Fury to speak. "Loki's friend Lady Arista was angry over the fact that Holly use the stone's power, apparently if you use it once it's useless for a few thousand years. Pepper was on her way to Stark Tower when Arista found her- "

"What did she do?" Tony's voice grew hollow.

Fury sighed and looked at Tony with sympathy for probably the first time in his life. "Arista killed Pepper. Tony, I'm sorry she's dead."

* * *

Loki could hear the chains rustling as he looked at his brother who was still giving him the evil glare. "Oh, stop looking at me like that, a mortal woman died they have the life span of flies, the stone on the other hand- "

"Will you stop talking about the stone?" Thor snapped. "A wonderful woman has died because of your selfish greed and the woman responsible is nowhere to be found. Has your greed become the center of your values, Loki?"

Loki pursed his lips, but didn't respond.

"In any case we will continue looking for Lady Arista," Thor's jaw clenched. "While you brother pay for your crimes in Asgard."

-End of Chapter Sixteen-


	18. Chapter 17: The Funeral

Chapter Seventeen: The Funeral

The next few days seemed to become total blurs for Tony, almost as if they hadn't occurred. Everyone wanted to help him with the "arrangements" as they called them. God, he hated that word, it made it looked like office work or as if they were planning a party, but this was Pepper's death that there were talking about.

Pepper was dead, Pepper was dead, Pepper was dead. Tony squinted his eyes shut as he forced himself to breath and think of something positive. He couldn't.

His breath smelled like alcohol and he felt hungover and it was hard to ignore the painful throbbing in his head. He could barely feel coherent half of the time and he hardly noticed what was happening.

His eyes opened suddenly when the bright sunlight hit his face. Was it morning already? "Good morning, sir." Jarvis said gently. Even the AI seemed to have reserved a monotype of voice for what had occurred.

"What time is it, J?" Tony asked as he reached towards the medicine cabinet for some painkillers for his throbbing headache.

"Ten AM." Jarvis said. "Might I remind you that Miss Potts funeral is scheduled for noon today."

"Huh?" Tony was confused as he forced himself to sit up and he looked around the tower. In all honesty it looked like a hurricane had come through here and Tony would be lying if he said he knew exactly what has happened. There were bottles everywhere as well as food containers and empty boxes of tissue that Tony had no idea how they got there. He suddenly saw a tiny brown owl fly around the living room, cooing and apparently wanting one of those cheese crackers that were on the kitchen table.

Mr. Tootsie Pop, um Mr. Owl he meant.

Then it suddenly hit him, Holly. His throat felt tight as he looked around the living room, but he didn't see the future little witch anywhere. The only presence from the wizarding community was Mr. Owl who was scarfing down cheese crackers like there was no tomorrow.

How the hell had Tony forgotten about Holly? It has only been a few days since Pepper's death and he had blacked out completely. What the hell had been wrong with him? Had he completely forgotten about Holly? Had he even talked to her since Pepper's death?

He had been so happy when she had been rescued and then Pepper's death had been a huge blow for him and now she was nowhere to been seen. Tony briefly remember that Steve had come by a few times along with Natasha and Bruce, but other than that, he couldn't remember. "Jarvis? Where's Holly, please tell me that she's still in the tower." He couldn't deal with Holly missing again along with Pepper's funeral. "She is in her room sir," the AI responded.

Tony nodded his thanks as he went to her room and saw that the door was slightly open. "Holly, can I come in?"

Holly didn't answer and Tony pushed the door opened anyhow. She was curled up like a small ball and staring right up at the ceiling and Tony felt his heart fall. Had he really forgotten her in the days following Pepper's death?

"It's my fault that she died isn't it?" Holly finally broke the silence. "I heard you and Auntie Nat talking, that Loki's friend Lady Arista killed Pepper because I left and I took the jewel away from her. It's true isn't it? She's dead and it's my fault."

"No, Holly of course not," Tony said, feeling like he had made an even more mess of things. Of course Holly had heard, Tony was not used to having a child creeping around the house. He sat down next to her and said firmly. "It wasn't you fault, it wasn't anyone's fault besides Loki and the rest of his psychopathic friends."

Holly nodded grimly, but she didn't really seem to believe him. Tony sighed. "Holly, a bad thing happened to someone we both cared about very much and Loki and his friend will pay, mark my words. So don't go feeling bad for something that wasn't you fault.

Holly bit her lip. "I miss her."

Tony could feel this own throat lock. "I'm going to miss her too, kiddo. But both of us will never forget her and we will move on, eventually."

"How?"

"Together."

* * *

Tony had prepared a small funeral for Pepper, since he was sure that even though Pepper was dead, she wouldn't want anything too extravagant. Just an elegant casket and roses in her favorite shade of pink. The guest list was small as well and the only ones in attendance were Maria Hill, Nick Fury, the avengers, some of Pepper's friends from college, Pepper's mom and only a handful of other relatives.

"Are you ok, Stark?" Steve said as Tony took a sip of whisky. "I know these past few days have been. . .hard."

"You could say that," Tony said. "And. thanks for keeping an eye on Holly when I was. . .when everything."

Steve nodded. Not letting him finish. "Don't worry about it, but Tony what are you going to do now."

Tony put down his glass on the countertop. "What else is there left to do, Steve? Time to move on. Or at least we have to try."

* * *

Loki could hardly believe that he was once again in a jail cell, this time in a higher security one that he had been last time. It was clear that Odin would rather put him to death already, but the only one that seemed to stop him was Frigga. He had to admire his mother's unconditional love, as far as he knew Thor hadn't put a word out in his defense. Typical.

Even though Odin had agreed not to kill Loki, that still meant that he was under lockdown at one of the higher security prisons where he couldn't do magic even if wanted too. All type of magic was not only forbidden, but whoever tried it would also be unsuccessful.

Odin had also forbidden Frigga to visit him or give him any of the accommodations that he had in his old cell, like his books and a nice bed. Frigga had not visit him ever since and it was clear that she was disappointed.

Loki rested his head against the back of the wall. He was bored, with nothing to do, but give the guards that were guarding his cell dirty looks. Loki suddenly felt an intense burning in his left arm and he winced. Not again. He pulled up the sleeve of his jacket and he saw it there, an angry, burning red.

Loki had noticed it a few days ago, when he had been put into this cell. His arm was still the usually pale color, but there were some areas that were swollen red as if something had bit him or scratch him. It didn't hurt, but it was not pleasant and Loki couldn't help but wonder how it had gotten there in the first place.

-End of Chapter Seventeen-


	19. Chapter 18 School Days

Chapter Eighteen: School Days

Things for Tony and Holly didn't settled right away after Pepper's funeral. Both of them still felt as if someone was missing, but they gradually settled themselves into their routine. It helped them that the other Avengers were there. It helped make everything less lonely.

Within a few days Holly fell into a routine that help her forget her sadness over losing Pepper little by little. In the morning Tony would make breakfast usually something like toast or waffles, because from what Holly could see Tony could not cook to save his life, then Tony would head off to work in his lab and Holly would play with Mr. Owl or be with Steve and he would help her draw some pictures, Holly enjoyed helping Natasha and Bruce get dinner since they were the only one that knew how to cook.

"Tony," Natasha said one evening while Tony was serving himself a glass of wine. She looked back at Holly who was with Bruce who was teaching her how Dummy worked. "You need to get that child enrolled in school. She's old enough to be in school."

"We talked about this Nat," Tony said. "When Holly is eleven Dumbledore is going to come take her to that fancy wizarding school or an American school close by. Facts are she is probably not going to even live in the real world, so why not let it enjoy her childhood before she has to go to boarding school."

Natasha rolled her eyes good naturedly. "You're going to end up spoiling her, aren't you? Besides you, Clint, and I know that Holly is a witch- "

"Wait, you told Clint?"

"It just slipped out."

"Still, why did you tell, Barton not even Pep knew about Holly may wield a wand someday story." Tony looked back at Bruce. "Do you think I should tell them that Holly is a witch? Both Rogers and Banner are wondering why she isn't in school either. They're kind of on the geeky side."

"You should tell them whenever you're ready." Natasha said. "Besides Holly is still a child, she will just experience accidental bouts of magic. Nothing too big, so if you want to hold off for a couple of more years' no one will blame you. Still, I think school with be good, she'll learn her numbers, to jump rope, and be with other kids her age. None of us had much of a childhood. Doesn't Holly deserve that chance."

Tony nodded after a while, as he took a sip of wine. "Fine, I'll look at private schools tomorrow."

Natasha nodded. "By the way, the infinity stone, the one that I gave Holly, did Thor ever take it back with him?"

Tony shook his head. "Thor saw that Holly was too attached to it. He let her keep it, besides the stone' useless now that Holly used it. It won't be useful for another hundred years at least. Why?"

"No reason, I just think he should have kept it, we don't always have the best of luck with these things."

* * *

"Your brother is ill."

Thor looked up from where he had been happily eating the remains of his dinner with Lady Sif and the warrior's three. His face had turned into a somber, dark expression as he looked at his mother's worried, yet slightly hopeful face. Unlike him and father, his dear mother hadn't lost hope that Loki. Her Loki and her son was still in there. Poor lady.

"Mother," Thor said as gently as he could. "You know that you're not supposed to go in there. Father has forbidden it."

Frigga snorted. "Believe me, Thor I can handle your father. Your brother is the one that I'm worried about."

Thor looked at Frigga. "What is wrong with him? The guards haven't mentioned anything."

Frigga's eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course they wouldn't, not when they are working for your father. But I used my magic, I couldn't go inside his cell of course. But on the outside-he didn't see me. Thor he's ill. Terribly ill, one of his arms is swollen and covered in scratches as if he had been bitten. Did something happen on earth?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, mother and knowing Loki he has, had this coming for a long time. Loki will get tired of his games soon enough. I will not disobey father's orders. Not now. Not when he has been right various of times."

"Well, I'm disappointed," Frigga admitted. "And remember Thor your father might be a god and ruler of Asgard, but he will still make mistakes. Just like the rest of us."

* * *

After providing a sizable "donation" Tony got Holly enrolled in Trinity Academy, a private coed school that was visible even from the Tower. Currently, it was ten minutes before school started and Holly should be on her way to school not sitting on the kitchen table with no shoes. "Shoes, I can't believe you lost your shoes, Holly. Remind me to never let Barton stay over. The idiot thinks this is a funny idea for a joke."

Holly shrugged as she took a bite from a pop tart. Now she knew why Thor like them so much. "They are just shoes, Tony. I'll wear my Little Pony slippers."

"You can't wear my little pony slippers to school. Believe me I do not need an hour long lecture from that headmaster."

"I found them Tony," Steve said as he came into the room. "Barton stuck them in the washing machine."

"Wonderful, remind me to exchange his arrows with popsicle sticks." Tony said as he handed Holly her Mary Jane shoes and Holly put them on. "Ok, Tony I'm ready."

"Good luck, Holly." Steve said as he bend over to her size. "And remember be a good girl and listen to your teachers. Don't let any of the other kids tease you, it's important to stand up for yourself and listen, I was tease a lot growing up and- "

"Calm down, Rogers it's second grade, not the army." Tony rolled his eyes as he got Holly from the kitchen table and handed her, her backpack. "You'll be fine, Holly. Don't listen to Rogers here, he's paranoid about everything."

They realized that it would be easier to get to school by walking than by taking the car and Tony was telling her instructions as they walked. "Ok, Holly I'll come and pick you up at three, don't talk to strangers, there are a lot of psycho's in New York- "

"Ok, but- "

"Oh, and Rogers is right about the bullying. Tell me who it is, if anyone is picking on you and I'll kick their ass."

"Tony, listen," Holly said exasperated. "What if-What if the kids at school, what if they don't like me. They didn't like me at my old school."

Tony looked at her and smiled slightly. "They will love you, Holly. You know why, because you're smart and funny and clever, and you are the best at making pop tarts." Holly smiled. "I know the first day can be scary, but remember what we said. One step at a time."

After signing a few papers Tony left Holly in the office, a few seconds later the secretary turned to her and said. "Oh, Holly dear. There you are, a little girl will lead you to your class with Miss Haywood. She's an exchanged student like you and staying with her aunt. Hermione, dear come meet Holly Potter."

A bushy hair girl with slight buck teeth came into the room. "Hello," she said in a slight English accent. "I'm Hermione Granger."

-End of Chapter Eighteen-

Thank you for your reviews!


	20. Chapter 19: Hermione

Chapter Nineteen: Hermione

Holly was certain about one thing, Hermione loved to talk. Seriously. It had been less than five minutes since the secretary had send Holly and Hermione on their way and Holly was already feeling slightly dizzy by how fast Hermione talked. Holly was sure that she had only gotten half of what Hermione had just said.

From what Holly had understood she was also from England, an only child, and her parents were dentist. Hermione was currently staying with her aunt who worked in New York after begging her parents to allow her to spend a year in an American school. "-It's quite different from the school that I used to go to," Hermione said crisply. It amazed Holly how many words she knew and how fast she spoke. She sounded older than a second grader. "For starters American schools are less strict which can be annoying because students don't pay attention in their lessons. But the food is better." She turned to her and gave Holly a slight smile.

Holly closed her small mouth slightly. She had simply asked Hermione where she was from and she had given her a detailed report. It was nice to meet someone else from England.

"Do you like to read?" Holly blurted out. "I like to read, especially the Ramona Quimby books, but I can't understand all of the words so I sometimes just look at the pictures." Holly felt her cheeks grew hot. She knew that a lot of kids her age, were much better students than she was, but she hadn't had much of an education in the school the Dursleys' had enrolled her in. They had sent her to some horrible public school while Dudley went to private school and Aunt Petunia had refused to help Holly with her homework, so Holly's grades weren't as best as they could be in language arts.

Hermione brightened. "I love to read, don't worry Holly I will teach you. You'll catch up in no time, and you'll be a great reader." She squeezed her hand. "Miss Haywood is really nice and she has a lot of books. She won't mind if we borrow some. I'm glad you came to school, Holly. I was lonely," she flushed. "I haven't made any friends. I've never even had a best friend."

Holly shook her head. "I never had a best friend either. . .do you want to be best friends?"

Hermione nodded a she looked at her shoes. "If you want too." Holly nodded as they finally entered Miss Haywood's classroom. Holly could feel her hands become slick with nervousness. A tall, pretty young woman with a sweet face went towards her. "Hello, dear." She smiled. "I'm Miss Haywood. You must be our student that is starting school today. Miss Holly Potter."

"Hi," Holly squeaked. She didn't dare look at the row of curious faces. There were orange pumpkins on the wall, even though there were still a few weeks until Halloween. She saw as Hermione skipped towards her desk that was located at the front seat of the classroom.

"Well, Holly would you like to tell us a few things about yourself."

"I," Holly squeaked as she looked at the twenty or so curious faces that were currently waiting for her to say something. She could feel her cheeks turning red and she wished that she could just say something. But honestly what could she tell them? That her aunt and uncle had treated horribly through the years? That Tony Stark adopted her? That she was actually a witch, but no one was supposed to know? That Thor's evil brother had kidnapped her? "Um- "some of her classmates started giggling.

Miss Haywood put a reassuring hand on Holly's shoulder. "Holly, why don't you take a seat? There's a desk in the back row."

* * *

Despite his better judgement and his mother's worry he found himself a few days later after their conversation in Loki's cell. He took a few steps forward and quickly realized that his mother had been kind regarding how Loki looked.

Thor had never seen his brother look this bad even when they had been ill as children. Loki looked like he was sweating buckets and his usual pale face looked even paler. He was taking deep breaths and Thor realized that it was probably hard for him to breath. His left arm was swollen red and it look uncomfortable.

Thor took a step forward, slightly biting his tongue. He hated to admit this, but he was worried about his brother. Loki raised his head and managed to say sarcastically. "Well, well the prodigy brother returns."

Thor ignored the sarcasm. "Loki, what happened? Mother, was- "

"Ah, yes, mother," a flicker of sadness passed through Loki's eyes. "Of course she would have send you, you would not have come on your own account otherwise."

"That was your doing," Thor snapped. "Not mine."

Loki didn't answer, he was still in pain, but it was nice to have visitors even if it was his annoying brother. Thor stepped forward. "How long has this- "

"A few days." Loki grimaced.

"And you do not know what causes it?" Loki didn't answer. "You're a still so stubborn."

"Said the pot to the kettle," Loki said dryly. "This is Arista's doing, no doubt about it. She has never taken disappointment very well."

"What shall we do?"

"Find her and kill her."

* * *

The playground at Trinity Academy was much better than the playground that they used to have back at Holly's old elementary school. There were a couple of swing sets too, which had always been Holly's favorite.

Hermione gave her a cheeky, little smile as she told her. "Race you to the swings."

Holly smiled as she started running, she was about to grab the swing when a boy who reminded Holly a lot like Dudley gripped it from the other end. "It's mine." He barked. "Go away."

"No," Holly said back. She was tired of being pushed around. "It's mine. I got it first."

The boy smirked as he pushed the swing towards her knocking her down on the floor. Hermione gasped as she raced to help up her new friend. "Are you all, right, Holly?"

Holly nodded, but in her small, green eyes there was anger. She had never felt this kind of anger before and now it felt like it was bubbling inside her, like it wouldn't go away. She was tired of being picked on. She had been picked on every day back home either from Dudley, from her aunt and uncle, or from the kids at school. Well, not anymore.

Her green eyes flashed as she turned towards the direction of the kid. Her anger seemed to be bubbling up in her chest. The boy and his friends stopped laughing when the boy that had pushed Holly started bleeding from his nose at rapid speed. His friends squealed as they rushed him to the nurse.

"Holly, that was amazing," Hermione said looking at Holly with both glee and disapproval. "How did you do that, just by staring at him?"

"I didn't," Holly said her voice quivering slightly. "I couldn't possibly."

-End of Chapter Nineteen-


	21. Chapter 20 God of Thunder and God of

**Chapter Twenty: The God of Thunder and the God of Mischief**

"I told you, Holly, don't worry about it," Hermione told Holly in her best soothing voice as both girls stood outside Trinity Academy waiting for their respective guardians to pick them up. Holly had hardly said a word since the "accident" and by the looks of it she wasn't too eager to be picking up the conversation from where it had left off. Hermione was trying her best to comfort Holly, which wasn't much help to be honest. "I'll ask my aunt to let me borrow her tablet. I'm sure what you have, you can cure it with medicine."

Holly didn't know how to tell her that her accidental bouts of magic were something that came with her witch side and that she should learn how to control it instead. "I don't think medicine will work," Holly said glumly. "Besides I'm not even sure I'm the reason that I caused the nose bleed."

Hermione didn't seem to be buying it. "But I saw you," she said somewhat bossily. "You just looked at the kid that was being mean to you and he started bleeding from his nose. It was like you had superpowers or something."

"I don't think it's superpowers," Holly said, grateful when a sleek black sports car stopped in front of them. Tony stepped out of it and greeted her. "Hey, kid. How was school?"

"Hi, Tony," Holly said breathing a sigh of relief. "Fine. It was good. This is my friend, Hermione Granger."

"Best friend," Hermione corrected as she shook Tony's hand. "Excuse me, sir. But I've seen you before on TV." She paused. "Oh, I remember now. On TV. My aunt wants to marry you."

Tony chuckled. "Well, I've always been fond of aunts. You should come to the tower sometime, Hermione. You and Holly could have a sleepover or something."

Hermione nodded, looking quite pleased with herself. "I would look forward to that, Mr. Stark. Thank you. I'll check the internet, Holly. I'll see in school tomorrow."

Both Tony and Holly watched as Hermione's bushy brown hair went towards her equally dark haired aunt. "What was that about?" Tony asked Holly as they walked back to the car.

Holly felt her cheeks flushed. "Nothing."

"Holly, we both know that you suck at lying so spit it out."

"I- "she paused, unsure of how to start. "I had an accident, kind of. The magic kind." She whispered the last two words.

Tony paused and then looked over his shoulder. He hesitated. "Did something happened? Was there an accident?"

"Yes, a little one," Holly admitted. "A kid in my class he started bleeding from the nose. He made me mad, he pushed me off the swings. I was so angry and I just stared at him and he started bleeding. Am I going to get into trouble? Are they going to take away my powers?"

Tony shook his head, trying to hide his smile, but failing in the long run. "No, they're not. Dumbledore said that your powers are going to be out of whack for the next few years. Accidental sprouts of magic, don't worry Holly no one is going to come to arrest you." He changed the subject. "so tell me about your new friend, bushy hair."

Holly giggled. "Her name is Hermione, Tony."

"It's a long name, besides I don't think that I can pronounce it. Bushy hair is the next best thing."

* * *

"NO!" Odin's voice could be heard all over the throne room as his voice shook with anger and severity even though only his wife and only son were present. "I refuse to let Loki out, how do you know that's he not up to his usual mischief. We've all fallen for his tricks before blindsided by love." Odin reminded them bitterly.

"Loki is ill, he might not have enough time left," Frigga tried to reason with him, but from the looks of it she was not going anywhere. "He has been cursed by Lady Arista, Loki has been a victim in this too, Odin whether or not you allow your bitterness to see. We need to destroy Lady Arista and whatever motives that she may have and we might be able to spare Loki his life."

Odin didn't say anything for a moment, but by his heavy breathing, Thor could tell that he was not pleased. He finally turned back to Thor and said curtly. "What do you think Thor? Can we trust the fact that Loki will not betray us this time?"

"He is dying, father," Thor said. "I can safely say that Loki cares about his life and he is not willing to risk death in order to escape from his cell."

"And Lady Arista do you know where she is?"

"Only that she grew angry when Tony Stark's ward used the power of the Infinity stone and she was no longer able to use it." Thor said. "Other than that no one knows of her location. Lady Arista came to Loki when she wanted his help to get the Infinity stone. The mark that Loki bears might be a curse from Lady Arista herself. Loki aside she is dangerous, father and manipulative. Are we really going to wait for her to cause more damage before we make a plan of attack?"

Odin didn't speak for a moment, but he finally nodded. "Get Loki, but Thor beware that if anything goes wrong or if Asgard is harmed in the process it will be on you, my son."

Thor nodded as he headed towards the cells and saw Loki looking more dead than alive, but he still managed to convey a few smart aleck remarks. "Well, well if it's isn't my dear brother. Must you always look so serious; you'll end up as bitter as father if you don't watch it."

Thor ignored his taunting as he handed him a small bottle of herbs that the Asgardian healers had made for him. "Here drink this, it won't cure you, but it should help you feel better at least for a while."

Loki practically snatched the bottle away from him and took a long sip. The color seemed to finally return to his face along with a quirky response. "What are you doing here? Did you come to watch me wither away?"

Thor ignored him as he gripped his hand and forced him to stand up. "Get up. You're going to help me find Lady Arista and we will kill her. Do not mess this up again, Loki. I warn you that you are running out of chances."

"Music to my ears, but go- Go where?"

"Midgard."

* * *

"Here. Dinner." Tony said as he placed a plate of eggs in front of Holly. At least Holly thought they were eggs, though she was pretty sure that they weren't supposed to be this burnt.

"I thought we were having pizza."

"We can't have pizza every night, Hol. Besides I got the recipe off Pinterest. It's a bacon and cheese omelet. Trust me." Holly nibble on a small piece and she frowned. It tasted like moldy bread, she didn't want to hurt Tony's feelings but she doubted that even Mr. Owl would like it.

Holly felt as the ground started shaking and she saw a flash of bright light. Thor and Loki appeared in the center. "Thor!" Holly squealed as she raced to hug him, but slightly avoiding Loki.

"Well, it seems you have quite the little fan club, Thor." Loki said icily.

"What the hell is Reindeer Games doing here?" Tony demanded putting a protective hand on Holly's shoulder. Before Loki could utter a response he gripped a nearby potted plant and vomited.

-End of Chapter Twenty-


	22. Chapter 21: Fight to the Finish

**Chapter Twenty-One: Fight to the Finish**

"Thor, will you get your weird brother to stop throwing up-hey, reindeer games get the fuck away from that, they brought that plant from China and I don't need your puke covering it up." Tony shouted at a sick Loki while keeping Holly at a safe distance.

Loki hadn't stopped being sick much to Tony's annoyance and Thor's worrying ever since the two demigods had arrived at the billionaire's place. Well, Tony thought, at least he wasn't hurting anyone. That was a start at least. A very bad one, but better than nothing.

Holly meanwhile was looking at Loki in a curious way, he was less terrifying when he was puking his guts out instead of kidnapping her and that made him even a tiny bit more approachable. Not that Holly was looking forward to them interacting again.

Loki finally stopped being sick to look at Tony and give him a dirty glare, which wasn't his best, he admitted, especially when he was feeling as sick as he was. "Will you shut up? Don't you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?"

"This is my house, my tower," Tony said firmly. "I am the one that makes the rules around here You might be the prince or fallen prince at Ass-whatever, but we are in my home now and I'm the one that makes the damn rules if you can't follow that then be my guest and get the hell out." Neither Thor or Loki said another word. Tony smiled slightly. "I thought so, now spill it out. What the hell is going on?"

Thor and Loki exchanged looks and Thor's jaw hardened as he saw the symbol on Loki's arm that seemed to be growing at a never ending speed. "Should you tell it or shall I?"

Loki looked at Thor rather shakily hating how weak and frail he sounded. "Perhaps you should."

After he finished explaining, Tony looked less pleased if that was even possible. He was rubbing his temples and it seemed that he was trying to make sense of everything that had been happening. "Ok, so let me get this straight you pissed off this Lady Arista or whatever when she wasn't able to get the infinity stone and now she placed a weird birthmark on your arm that is starting to look like a really bad tattoo."

"It's a curse," Loki said glaring at Thor, wondering why they had even trusted this blubbering idiot in the first place, but Thor was right. They were out of options. "And the curse is slowly killing me. It will make me incredibly sick at first and eventually it will stop my heart and I will be dead."

"Well, it was nice knowing you."

"Stark, this is no joking matter." Thor said shaking his hammer. "We must destroy this Lady Arista and prevent her from doing any more harm and prevent Loki from dying."

Tony scrunched up his nose. "Then maybe he needs to pick better friends."

Loki glared at him. "This wouldn't have happened if that little brat of yours hadn't used the power of the infinity stone."

"Hey," Holly spoke up annoyed. Her slight compassion for Loki had evaporated. "It was my necklace. My aunt Natasha gave it to me. You and your mean friend were the ones who took it from me!"

Loki was about to respond with another sarcastic response when the throwing up continued. Tony looked away in disgust. "How much times does he have left anyway?"

Thor shrugged. "A couple of days, a week at the most. The curse is spreading faster than we had anticipated. The herbs that my mother gave us should prevent it from getting much worse for a while."

Tony shook his head, "Even if we agree to help you kill Arista and I will at least since she killed my Pep, where the hell is she? Has anyone even see her since the incident."

"She will come," Loki finally said as he managed to tear himself away from the potted plant. "For the infinity stone." He pointed towards the necklace that Holly was wearing around her neck. "For that."

Holly shook her head. "It doesn't work. You said it yourself. Tony, you said I could keep it because it no longer works."

Tony nodded. "I know what I said squirt, simmer down and you spill it."

Loki gave a dry laugh. "That doesn't mean she won't try. Rumor has it that she will do everything in her power to make sure that the stone works again. This time in her favor."

* * *

"No," Steve shook his head. "We are not helping him." Tony rubbed his temple as he tried not to lose his temper with Steve, but he was slowly failing. The rest of the Avengers and himself minus Thor had been discussing this for the past forty-five minutes and so far, they weren't getting anywhere. "Have you forgotten what Loki has put us through Tony. He is the reason that Pepper got killed and Holly herself was almost killed as well.

"I know that Steve, believe me I know that I think about it every day and believe me revenge is very high on my list." Tony said tightly, "But that is not the only reason I want to help Loki. Do you honestly think that even if we leave Loki to die that Arista is just going to take the necklace from Holly, perhaps become all powerful and leave us at peace and maybe send us a Christmas card once in a while?"

The room was in a dreary silence. "I didn't think so. "

"Stark is right, and don't gloat," Natasha said as Tony stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "It makes sense we should get rid of Arista while she's not at full strength at the moment otherwise it will come bite us back in the ass like it always does."

Clint frowned. "The question is where the hell is she and how are we going to find her?"

"I'll help," Bruce said. "The necklace was in her grasp at some point her DNA was all over it not to mention that Loki's curse will help in some way and maybe I can also use that to reach her. No doubt that we're going to hear from her very soon if she wants Holly's necklace."

Tony nodded. "Then it's settled, we're going after her and we're going to destroy her."

* * *

Holly was bored and she wished that someone would play with her. She feed Mr. Owl another nut, but even he refused to play. She heard something creak and she turned around. There was someone gazing outside her window.

Holly opened the window and saw the bushy hair and pale face belonging to Hermione. "Hermione." Holly noticed that there was someone besides her making her float. Arista.

"Holly," Hermione sounded as if she were going to burst into tears. "Help me."

"Well," Arista asked with a crooked smile. "Are you?"

-End of Chapter Twenty-One-


	23. Chapter 22: Asgard

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Asgard**

Arista twirled Hermione around as if she were a holiday ornament, taunting Holly slowly. Hermione turned pale and she looked like she was going to be sick. She was trembling all over and Holly could feel the guilt nestling in heart.

A small, little voice inside her seemed to scream. _This is all your fault,_ the little voice seemed to say. _This wouldn't happen if she wasn't your friend._

"Holly," Hermione's voice seemed to break Holly away from her thoughts. Even though Hermione seemed to be scared out of her wits she never cried or beg. Arista seemed to be growing impatient with the fact that Holly wasn't saying anything, because she repeated the question. "What is it going to be Holly?"

"Hermione," Holly told her. "You can take me wherever you want, but leave Hermione alone. She's good. She won't hurt anyone. Leave her here and just take me please."

Hermione started squirming in midair as she shook her head furiously. "No, Holly don't listen to her, I'm fine-"

"Quiet," Arista said sharply. "Well aren't you two the little heroines? But I'm afraid it wasn't a choice, sweetheart. Both of you are coming with me."

Arista grabbed her arm and Holly let out a small gasp. She suddenly felt as if someone was squeezing her inside a very small hole. "Holly, open your eyes." Hermione's small, timid voice finally convinced her to open her eyes.

When she did, she couldn't believe where she was. It was obviously not earth and it wasn't Hogwarts either. All around the two girls there were lustful gardens that never seemed to dry and large bodies of water. Holly could see a palace miles from where she was.

"Where are we?" Holly voiced her thoughts out loud.

"I don't know," Hermione said generally worried. "I've never seen this place at all and I read through Places Arounds the World Kids Edition twice."

"Welcome girls to Asgard." Arista said, her voice as sweet as honey.

"Asgard," Holly quipped. "This is where Thor and Loki lived?" The few times that Thor had come over he had told Holly how beautiful Asgard was and how much fun he and Loki had playing in the gardens. Holly had noticed that Thor always looked sad when he mentioned Loki, as if he didn't want to forget the child that Loki had been.

"Precisely. Now come along, you don't want me to force you, now do you?"

Hermione gripped Holly's hand and the two girls headed towards the end of the small hill where Arista was taking them.

* * *

"I'm telling you we don't have another choice, and do you guys really want to throw away the only chance that we might have to overthrow Arista. Loki-we talked about this, dude. If you need to throw up do it in the wastebasket." Tony said sounding annoyed. "Do you guys want every person we fight to become a supervillain before we fight against it?"

"Of course not," Natasha said. "But Tony after everything that has happened, you can't blame us over the fact that we want to take precautions for not putting the world in any more danger than we have too."

"That's Bull, Romanoff and you know it. You're just worried that we might be outnumbered."

Natasha pursed her lips. "You can't exactly blame me, Tony what we're fighting against isn't exactly normal."

"Sir, I hate to interrupted your debate, but I must inform you that Miss Potter has gone missing." Jarvis interrupted them. "Exactly two minutes ago she disappeared from the premises. She was taken by an unknown forced. Miss Granger was taken as well."

"Bushy hair?" Tony said. "Damn it Arista. I told you that we should have moved faster. Thor, you need to take us to Asgard get God Daddy and Mommy to help us out."

Thor shook his head. "I'm sorry Friend Stark even for Lady Holly, I can't bring all of you to Asgard, it would be against the rule."

"I wasn't asking Thor," Tony said sharply. "Now if you want to see your little brother live another day you will take us to see them. Now."

* * *

Asgard was beautiful, too bad that Holly couldn't enjoy it. She was just glad that Hermione was here, at least she wouldn't have to be alone. She would have hated being alone here.

She saw Arista leaning over a large pot, orange and purple steam seemed to evaporate from the pot. Hermione and Holly were huddled against a corner, amusing themselves by pulling up different colored flowers. "What is she doing?" Hermione whispered to Holly.

Holly shrugged and that moment, Arista came forward and held her palm opened. "Your necklace, give it to me nicely before I rip it off you pretty, little neck."

Holly stubbornly clung to it. "It doesn't work anymore, Thor said-"

Arista ignored her protests and she slapped Holly's hand from her neck and ripped the necklace from her. "You fool, every object no matter if it's used always has a little bit of magic. I planned to preserve that magic."

She walked with the necklace over to the boiling pot and dropped it in.

* * *

"Does anyone else feel like the floor is moving?" Clint was the first to speak after Thor had transported himself, Loki, and the Avengers to Asgard. They couldn't understand how Thor did it without feeling dizziness himself.

Heimdall went towards them, a dark look on his face. "Stop. Thor, you know that mortals are prohibited in Asgard."

Thor sighed. "It's an emergency, Heimdall I'm sure my father will understand."

Loki coughed behind him, he coughed a couple drops of blood. Bruce stared at the blood. "He's getting worse; he needs some special Asgardian medicine or something."

"He's running out of time, even the gods won't save him now. Where is my mother, Heimdall? We need her help."

-End of Chapter Twenty-Two-

Thanks so much for your reviews! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in two months, school has been crazy and I've had a huge writer's block for this story. Thankfully, it seems that I have fixed all loose ends, so it won't be happening again, I promise! Thanks for reading.


	24. Chapter 23: Hermione and Holly

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Hermione and Holly**

They were silent. They just didn't know what to say or how to bring the subject up about everything that had happened in the past few hours. It was just unruly. Not to mention that Holly had no idea how to explain to Hermione everything that had happened. Though she guessed that Hermione knew more than she would ever let out. She was a smart cookie and it seemed that nothing went past her.

"Hermione," Holly whispered to her friend as she sat beside her. They were watching Arista looking at the boiling pot with weary eyes. The desperation in her eyes was obvious.

Hermione looked up, her eyes were swollen from crying and she looked exhausted. Holly could feel the guilt settle in her chest. Even though she was terrified of being alone at that point in time she would rather be alone with Arista than have Hermione crying.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry," she blurted. "All of this, this is my fault. Arista hates me, not you. You got hurt because of me and I'm sorry." Hermione scrunched up her nose. "Oh, don't be silly, Holly. This isn't your fault. You are not the villain."

She looked over her shoulder and saw that Arista was still bent over slightly the boiling pot as she waiting anxiously for it to burn so she could harvest the little power that Holly's necklace still had. "The pot isn't boiling." She said in a small whisper.

Holly looked confused. "What are you talking about, yes, it is I can see it from here."

Hermione's cheeks turned slightly crimson. "No, you don't understand. The pot looks like it's boiling, but it's really not." She murmured. "Holly, I was glad that I meet you because then. . .then I didn't have to be alone. I didn't have to go through this alone."

Holly felt herself grow weary and more confused the more that Hermione talked. "Go through what alone?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed as she played with the end of her skirt. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before. I just needed to make sure especially since Uncle Mark told me never to tell anyone. That it could be dangerous if I told anyone, but now I know that you are you. You know, a witch."

"Who is Uncle Mark?" Holly asked confused. Hermione wasn't making any sense.

"Uncle Mark is my aunt's husband and my aunt is my mother's sister," Hermione whispered in order not to cause too much commotion. "I've been staying with them remember?" Holly nodded. "My aunt is a normal human, but my Uncle Mark he is a wizard. He was the one who told me that I shouldn't let anyone know that I was a witch or I could get in trouble. He's been teaching me a few things. I'm afraid that they are not that good and they don't always work, but Uncle Mark tells me that my magic will be better once I turn eleven. Oh, Holly eleven seems so far from now, how can I- "

"Wait," Holly interrupted Hermione's babble. "So do you mean that you used magic on Arista's pot?" Holly felt a pang of jealousy. The only magic that she could do happened when she lost her temper. Figures.

Hermione nodded. "It only looks like it's boiling, but it's really not. Still, I don't know for how long it works."

Holly nodded and said wearily. "She will probably won't be happy when she does find out," Holly longed for Tony. "We need to leave. This is Thor's home after all. Maybe Thor is here."

Hermione didn't look entirely convinced. "How can you be so sure?"

Holly wasn't sure. But then again she and Hermione didn't have many options. She doubted that Arista would find this information funny once she noticed that the pot wasn't actually boiling.

"This is taking too long," Arista murmured and both girls flinched. "I need to speed up the process. Stay here. I'll go pick up some herbs that will speed it up."

They nodded as they watched her leave. "Now what?" Hermione inquired as she ran a hand through her bushy hair. "Thor's castle is still too far away not to mention that even if we do manage to leave before Arista gets back with the herbs how can we prevent her from seeing us?" Hermione sighed. "I should have taken notes."

They suddenly heard a loud, piercing cry and they turned towards where the sound was coming from. They saw a large, red bird with vivid wings. Holly could almost swear that the bird was on fire. She adjusted her eyes again and gaped slightly. She wasn't imagining things, the bird was on fire. "Hermione, look." Holly said as she pointed to the bird. She desperately wished that Arista hadn't sent that bird to eat them

"It's a phoenix," Hermione said excitedly when she saw the bird. She felt her shoulders relaxed, finally something that she could explain. "I read about them, well I tried to understand most of the words. My aunt said that some of the stories weren't appropriate for me."

"But just what is a phoenix?" Holly asked as the bird landed in front of them. "Do they exist in Asgard?"

"They don't exist, Holly." Hermione said dryly. "They aren't even supposed to be real."

Holly looked at the bird, it seemed to be waiting for them to finish their conversation. "It seems friendly enough. Though we probably shouldn't pet it."

"Look, Holly it's holding something." Hermione declared as she pointed to something that the bird was holding. It seemed to be made of some shimmery type silk. The bird let out another squeak before it left the silky material in front of them.

"What is it? Wait, Holly don't touch it!"

Holly ignored Hermione and touched what the phoenix had left them. It was slippery on her fingers. She wrapped it around her small body like a cloak. Hermione screamed and Holly looked at her annoyed. "Why are you screaming? Arista is going to come back."

"Oh, Holly, oh just look! Your body is gone." she looked down and realized that she indeed looked like a floating head. She quickly removed the cloak and her body appeared again. "It's a magic cloak. It makes me invisible."

"You dropped something." Hermione pointed to the note that Holly had dropped. She picked it up. _It was your father's invisibility cloak. Use it wisely. Albus Dumbledore._

"It's from Dumbledore," Holly said quietly. "He sent us the phoenix with the cloak. He said that it belonged to my father. It makes you invisible."

"That's impossible," Hermione responded, but there was weary in her voice. "Does it work?"

"You just saw that it worked."

There was a nervous expression on Hermione's face. "All right, let's go then. Get under the cloak. Surely, it can't get much worse."

* * *

"Mr. Stark, please stop worrying," Frigga told the team that had arrived frazzled to Asgard. "I'm sure Heimdall with locate Holly and her friend soon. He can see everything as you know."

"Yes, thank you." Tony said, trying his best to be polite. So far Frigga was the most likeable person here, especially since Odin hadn't stop scowling at them ever since they had arrived. Heimdall approached them and Frigga pressed down her dress. "What news do you have for us, Heimdall? Did you find them?" he nodded.

"They are here. In the palace." Heimdall said.

-End of Chapter Twenty-Three-


	25. Chapter 24: The End

**Chapter Twenty-Four: The End**

"We're lost!" Hermione said in her usual bossy voice that was slowly driving Holly mad. The two girls were still hidden under the invisibility cloak, but it had quickly become tiresome even though both girls were small.

"We are not lost," Holly said as she tried to remain upbeat, but even she felt like she had been walking around in circles. The palace was larger than she had anticipated. "We are just not in the right place."

"So, we're lost." Hermione said back sarcastically.

"I hear them, but where the hell are they." Holly brightened up when she heard Tony's voice and removed the cloak without thinking. She was just happy to see any of the Avengers. "Tony!" she hugged him fiercely.

"Holly." Tony returned the hug just as fiercely even though he wasn't what you would call a hugger. "And bushy hair. You're ok, you're safe, where is Arista? How did you even escape?"

"Because of a phoenix," Hermione blurted out. "He saved us, Dumbledore send us this indivisibility cloak. It used to belong to Holly's father."

Tony shook his head. "Nice. Would it kill him to show up occasionally?"

Odin turned his head slightly when he heard a crack, his spear was held tightly in his hand. He looked at his eldest son who was holding the hammer and nodded once. Thor returned the nod, agreeing with his father that he had everything under control should anything happen. Natasha gripped her gun though she knew that it would be useless when dealing with non-human enemies, but she would rather die than be caught off guard. Clint settled on his bow and arrows and Steve raised his shield. Bruce had stayed behind with Frigga and an ill Loki in case the all mother needed backup.

They heard the crack sounds again as they turned their head slightly towards one of the pillars. Several of the pillars surrounding the large castle began to break. Hermione whimpered. "Hide behind the cloak," Tony whispered harshly towards Hermione and Holly as he wrapped the cloak around them. "And whatever happens don't make a sound and don't move, well move if something is flying in your direction, but other than that, don't move. I will tell you when it's safe."

Hermione and Holly nodded as they wrapped the cloak around their small frames. The rest of them were tensed, preparing for battle. They finally saw a woman flying in midair, she was holding a sword as she looked furious. "Where is she? Where is the little brat? She did something to the necklace."

Iron Man flew towards her. "Well, you're not dealing with her now, you're dealing with me." He blasted her but Arista managed to dodge them. Clint managed to jab an arrow in her leg distracting her for a second. Natasha used that opportunity to shot her three time across the legs and chest.

Arista hissed as she send some sparks flying their away. Clint cursed when one of the sparks fell on his skin and caused second degree burns on his arms. Steve raised his shield and protected Clint and Natasha since they didn't have suits. Thor raised his hammer letting out a bout of lighting that Arista paid no attention to.

Arista managed to overturn Steve and Clint and she knocked Natasha down ready to slice her head off. Natasha kicked Arista in the stomach.

Thor managed to pull Arista away from Natasha as he pressed the hammer against Arista's stomach so that she wouldn't be able to move. Arista grunted.

Arista struggled against the weight of the hammer, attempting to move, but even she knew that it was impossible. Odin jammed his spear inside her heart and Arista let out a choke sound as her eyes froze in pain. Odin looked exhausted as he said. "It is done."

* * *

Frigga and Odin let them stay in the palace until the following morning though Holly saw that Odin didn't seem the least bit pleased to have humans stay here, no matter how much Thor was fond of them, but Frigga had quickly shut him up.

Holly had woken up for the first time relaxed with Hermione curled up next to her on the large bed in the guest room that Frigga had lent them. Now after breakfast they would be going back home and Thor seemed disappointed at the thought.

"Holly." Holly turned around and saw that it was Loki who was calling out for her. He looked better considering everything that he had gone though. But after Arista had been killed the curse had been disactivated, thought that hadn't stopped Frigga from fussing all over him though Odin still looked weary at him.

Holly went towards him, while Tony got out of his chair. Loki snorted in his direction. "Relax, Stark I do not wish to harm her. I do not exactly have the energy and I'm not an idiot."

"Fine," Tony said. "Holly, holler if you need anything."

Loki scowled at him and Holly followed him outside of the grand dining room, unsure of what Loki wanted. Loki was staring at her, his lip curled unsure of himself of how he wanted to continue the conversation. "I apologize." He finally said. "For kidnapping and for making you a prime target against Lady Arista."

Holly nodded. "Well, you apologized so that's good. Besides no one got hurt and Hermione is ok."

"You're a very unusual child, Holly Potter."

Holly attempted to hug him, but she was much shorter than him and ended up hugging his legs instead catching Loki by surprise. "Will you teach magic to me and Hermione sometime?"

"I will," Loki said. "It will be the least I can do."

* * *

 _Four Years Later…_

"Tony, Stark would you hurry up," Natasha said as she looked over her shoulder for a second and then looked back towards the crowded King Cross' station. She curled her lip. She had never like crowded places mainly because she thought they were dangerous. Though Albus had assured her that everything was safe, that Holly was completely safe, and that there were undercover wizards everywhere in case of an emergency after Natasha had written him a strongly worded letter regarding safety.

"I'm coming." Steve and Tony had been chatting while Tony told him everything he had missed while he was being a "block of ice." Steve hadn't done much traveling lately though Natasha noticed that he looked a little sad. He was probably thinking about Peggy.

Bruce was helping Holly push the cart towards platform 9 ¾ wherever that was, while Clint held a birdcage that held Hedwig, Holly's new snowy white owl. Mr. Owl would be staying back at Avengers tower in case any of the Avengers wanted to write a letter to Holly.

Tony hadn't exactly been thrilled that Holly had chosen to attend Hogwarts rather than the American Wizarding school, but he eventually agreed with the idea when he realized that Hermione would also be attending and that Holly's own parents had attended the school.

"Squirt, where exactly are we supposed to go?" Tony asked as his eyes went from platform 9 to ten.

Steve shrugged. "Maybe we could ask someone."

Clint snorted. "Ask someone where the magical train that takes them to the wizarding school is? They'll love that."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Hey, no fighting." Natasha scolded as they came closer to platform nine they saw a red headed woman arguing with several children. "Fred-no stop Fred don't put that in Ron's ear. Ginny, stop crying you will go next year dear. George, it's your turn dear, hurry before anyone sees. Hurry, Fred now you two don't want to miss the Hogwarts express."

At the name, Hogwarts, Holly's ears perked up as she made a beeline towards the red headed woman. "Excuse me," she said softly. "Do you know how to get to platform 9 ¾?"

"Yes, dear. First time I see," Molly said as she eyed the Avengers. "My, you have a lot of people with you. That's nice. I'm Molly Weasley. I'll tell you how to get to the platform. This is my son, Ron. Ron, stop fidgeting. He's a first year, say hello Ron."

"Hello," Ron murmured, turning slightly pink. There was a rat sitting on his shoulder. "What's your name anyway?"

"Holly. Holly Potter."

Ron gaped and Molly scolded him slightly though even she looked a bit surprise. "Close your mouth dear. Now, we'll go first Holly and the rest of you can follow. It's easy, the train is right through this wall right here. Watch us, come along Ginny, Ron."

The Avengers and Holly watched as Ginny, Molly, and Ron went through the wall as if they had disappeared into thin air. Clint whistled. "That will never stop bring creepy."

"Stark, I think only you and Holly should go," Bruce said. "We don't want to attract to much attention."

Tony nodded, "You're right. Holly, you should say goodbye. We won't see each other until Christmas."

"But we'll write a lot of letters," Natasha said as she hugged her tightly as Holly took turns hugging each of her super aunt and uncles. Tony got a hold of Holly's things while Holly got Hedwig.

"Ready?" Tony said as he squeezed Holly's hand. Holly nodded as she gulped nervously as they both ran towards the wall. Holly opened her eyes when she heard a whistling sound. She gaped when she saw the large train standing in front of her and dozens of kids in robes.

"Holly!" Hermione said as she came running towards them. "You're late. Hi, Mr. Stark."

Tony laughed, "Hi, Hermione." He nodded as a wizard took Holly's things from him and her owl.

"We better get going," Hermione said. "Ron said he would save us a seat." She pointed to the red headed boy.

Holly nodded. "I'll be right there." Hermione nodded as she followed Ron insider the cart.

She looked at Tony. "So, I won't be back until Christmas." She bit her lip.

"It will go by fast," Tony tried to keep his voice from cracking. "You'll see, kid."

The train whistled again. "All aboard. Last chance!"

"You better get going," Tony hugged her tightly. "I love you, kid. You're going to go far, Holly."

"I love you too," Holly whispered in his ear. "And.. . thank you for everything. I never did thank you. I'll see you at Christmas."

Tony smiled. "I will be counting down the days. Now hurry up. Hogwarts is waiting."

 **The End**

So, we have reached the end of From a Cradle to a Grave. Thank you everyone for all your great support!


End file.
